Agricultural Land

The Only Thing That Lasts: How Ted Turner’s 2 Million Acres Redefined Land Ownership

Thu, 07 May 2026 17:58:49 GMT

Ted Turner’s rise to the top of the Land Report 100 marked a transformative era of American land ownership. Once the largest private landowner in the U.S., Ted Turner had many titles, business accomplishments and accolades as well.

With his death on May 6, 2026, the discussion of his legacy began. And undoubtedly his impressive 2 million acres is the driving force with a “save everything” philosophy toward land stewardship.

“If you visit any of Ted Turner’s properties, there’s a bumper sticker available that reads, “Save Everything,” says Eric O’Keefe editor of The Land Report. “That was his approach, as far as being a landowner. He was a conservationist, first and foremost.”

Turner built a revolutionary business empire—taking father’s billboard company to building a global media powerhouse, pioneering 24-hour news with CNN and acquiring the MGM film library. His business success fueled his land purchases as he reinvested those profits into large tracts of land across the country, and notably in the western states.

“He was one of the original, in this generation, of corporate magnates who plowed their profits into land, O’Keefe says. He adds Turner was friends with the current No. 1 largest landowner John Malone, who he “gave the land bug to.” And it was Turner’s investments that inspired others including Bill Gates.

Turner’s acquisitions gained momentum in the 1990s, making his the first No. 1 largest landowner when The Land Report started its first ranked list in 2007. In the 2025 Land Report list, Turner was the fourth largest with 2 million acres located in Montana, South Dakota, New Mexico, Kansas, Nebraska, Georgia and more.

“He looked around corners in ways that few of us can really comprehend. He was buying the greatest ranches in the American West, and these phenomenal quail plantations decades before anyone else,” he says.

O’Keefe says a hallmark of Turner’s land buying was not only in its accumulation but how he enhanced it with conservation efforts.

“I love that Gone with the Wind quote, and of course, Ted acquired the MGM Library and, owned Gone with the Wind. And the quote is, ‘land, it’s the only thing that lasts.’ And at the end of the day, that was, to him, in my opinion the most powerful element of his legacy.”

Farmland Value Check: Midwest Class A Ground Sees Pullback, Water Security Redefines California’s Market

Mon, 04 May 2026 03:08:15 GMT

New data assembled by Realtors Land Institute (RLI), the National Association of Realtors Research Group and Acres, highlights fundamental trends driving the land market today. But this year’s Land Market Survey, which was augmented by research conducted by Acres, unveils two trends in farmland regarding quality and productivity ratings as well as other trends important in the business management of farmland.

First, Overall Land Trends

In addressing widespread concerns about a potential U.S. recession, Dr. Lawrence Yun Chief Economist and SVP of Research, National Association of Realtors emphasized that, despite recent oil price shocks and persistently low consumer sentiment, the U.S. economy is not on the brink of recession.

The survey details multiple industries and sectors in land use and values, and for 2025, In terms of price growth, the ranch category led with a 2.2% increase in dollars per acre, outperforming other land types. Industrial and recreational land also saw solid gains of 1.9% each, while other categories experienced moderate increases. Notably, Commercial Real Estate Data Analyst, Oleh Sorokin anticipates that while land sales will strengthen in 2026, the pace of price growth is expected to slow, with projected increases in the ranch category dropping to 0.9% per acre.

How Are Farmland Values Performing Differently?

The presenters highlight the energy price correlation as Farmland values and operational balance sheets are heavily tied to energy prices, as oil and gas drive both fuel costs and fertilizer prices.

“Tariffs are one that it’s kind of dwarfed now by the energy situation, but tariffs were a pretty big impact last year,” says Aaron Shew, chief technology officer at Acres.

With fuel input prices and fertilizer input prices highly driven by energy prices, those effects are being monitored closely both in terms of price hikes but also duration of elevated prices.

He continues, “Some of the energy challenges that we’re undergoing with the war in Iran and the blockade, Straits of Hormuz, I think that has the potential, maybe less in the broader real estate market, but for farmland specifically, that could have a pretty large impact, depending on how it resolves, how quickly that happens.”

What Are The High Interest Trends?

Shew’s research reveals two eye-catching farmland value takeaways.

1. Midwest Market “Pullback": Class A farmland in the Midwest is seeing a “mature” pullback of about 10% from the 2021–2022 peaks, while Class B ground remains slightly more resilient.

(Acres.com)

First Shew notes, 2021 and 2022 saw 1.5x to 2x the average number of land transactions. The highest value per acres sales during that time earned a lot of attention. What he refers to as “hype.”

“Particularly in Iowa and Illinois, where farmers were buying farms for $25,000 or $30,000 per acre. you have these outlier transactions. It’s very, very few, but they catch a lot of attention and that kind of pushes some land values up.”

He says that raised expectations that Class A—or the highest rated productivity ground—had reached a new plateau in values and wouldn’t go down.

But Shew notes, as of 2025, there’s been a 10% pullback from those ’21 and ’22 peaks. And that’s on the highest rated ground in terms of productivity.

Class B ground values have been more resilient.

2. In California, Water is Half Your Land’s Value

Looking at the data, Shew says in California, water security drives the value, particularly for permanent crops. Tier 1 districts with multiple water sources maintain high values, while “white space” (areas without district water) is seeing significant distress and land fallowing.

“A lot of people are already talking about water regulations, how water security plays a role, and, permanent crops have been under duress for close to three years now,” Shew says. “So that’s not new, but we’ve quantified the impacts regionally, and across ag districts, and by permanent crop type.”

The crops showing this trend in spades: almonds and pistachios.

“For Tier 1 districts, for almonds, you’re looking at $30,000 plus an acre. And then you go to Tier 2 districts, and you’ll see it around a little over $20,000 an acre. Outside of districts, it’s called white space and you’re actually at $13,000 per acre, which is almond ground being sold as bare ground—rip and replace.”

(Acres.com)

He says Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) will mean that 500,000 to 750,000 acres of irrigated farmland will have to be fallowed or pulled out by 2040.

“So that’s about 10% of the farmland in California’s Central Valley, most of it in San Joaquin,” so we’re seeing some initial phases of that as we’ve seen tens of thousands of permanent crops come out in the past few years,” Shew says.

He adds, “Water regulatory bodies have put more pressure on farming in California. It’s just going to create a harsher environment for how water gets distributed and allocated.”

Resilience via Government Assistance

Programs such as the Farmers Bridge Assistance are preventing forced land sales by supporting farm operations, which keeps land values stable despite two years of challenging economics. He says we are reaching the tipping point in year three.

“Farm operations can be poor for a year or two and you’re not really going to see it show up in land values,” he says. “But we’re on a third year of this, and we’ve got other challenges that are fairly unprecedent at the same time, so there’s a lot to watch.”

“If you have to declare bankruptcy on your farm, 80% of most farm balance sheets is land, so that’s the large asset that’s going to get sold by the bank,” Shew says. “Government policies to provide support, The Farmers Bridge Assistance is the most recent one that probably plays the largest role, and it just helps farmers get to the end of ‘26, where hopefully balance sheets are in a good place.”

He’s also watching how the provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill come to bear this fall and at year end.

“Reference prices for, rice, in particular, is one that comes to mind. Those will take place and hopefully create some stability, but you have got to get to the end of the year.”

Transaction Volume Stabilization

Nationwide transaction volumes have returned to pre-pandemic (2018–2020) levels, though California is seeing an uptick in volume due to “distress sales” from owners who can no longer float the costs.

“The low interest rates ‘21 to 23, roughly created a great time for folks to invest in land. They wanted to deploy capital, and land is the definition of a real asset,” he says. “You had that boom, and then, of course, as rates went up in ’23 and ’24 and values stabilized at much higher levels, it turned off that capital allocation.”

(Acres.com)

National farmland transaction volumes in 2024 and 2025—transaction count, acreage turnover, and overall volume of dollars—is approximately the same as 2018 and 2020.

“Q4 of ‘21 and Q1 of ‘22, we saw three times the typical amount that would turn over,” he says. “So in Q4 of 2021, we saw 10 billion in farmland in one quarter—high volume and high values.”

While 2021 was the big, from a year-over-year standpoint, that began to fall back, by 20%, then 30%. He says the flattening from 2024 to 2025 is a bright spot to show overall stability.

“We’re not going to continue to see less transactions or lower sales volumes. We’re seeing that stabilize at a more consistent level alongside where interest rates are,” he says. “And presumably, if we see interest rates decrease, we will see that pick back up, and start what may be another cycle.”

You can download the full Market Values Report here.

Farm Family Slammed by DOL Sues Feds, Demands Jury Trial

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 13:56:44 GMT

No jury or independent judge allowed. Welcome to a farmer’s nightmare and the sequestered world of the administrative state.

David and Debbie Ross, facing $70,000 in fines, are demanding a jury trial. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) claims the couple is guilty of mistreating H-2A workers.

The Rosses are trapped within the closed loop of a single agency: Pursuit by DOL agents, enforcement by DOL personnel, trial by DOL attorneys, testimony by DOL witnesses, decision by DOL judge, and review by DOL appellate judges.

“It’s sickening what the government can get away with,” Debbie says. “We’ve done nothing wrong and we want a jury of our peers to hear the evidence. All of it.”

The Rosses are suing DOL, and their case carries heavyweight ramifications for agriculture and beyond. “People might think there’s no way something this unjust happens in America, but it does,” she adds. “It’s happening on our farm to us.’”

Neverending Merry-Go-Round
In the northern Kentucky hills of Harrison County, at Triple R Farms, a small operation started in roughly 1990, the Rosses grow tobacco and corn, and maintain a small cattle herd.

David handles planting and management, but during the fall season, due to the heavy demands of tobacco harvest, he employs a team of H-2A workers sourced from DOL. Housed on-farm, the H-2A workers typically remain at Triple R for several months.

“We’ve always valued the H-2A program,” Debbie says. “Every year, when we finally get all our tobacco in the barn, David has a big pig roast for our H-2A help, most of who come from Mexico. To get charged with mistreatment of anyone working on our farm is ridiculous.”

On December 1, 2021, three DOL agents, as part of a scheduled, annual audit, sat at Debbie’s kitchen table and combed through Triple R paperwork. Debbie, dealing with soreness of muscle and a slight cough, gave them open access.

“They seemed considerate. I provided all our documents and they went out to look at the farm and our housing facilities. Maybe they stayed six hours or so.”

Triple R Farms in Harrison County, northern Kentucky.

(Photo by Google Earth)

The next day, Debbie and David tested positive for Covid—waylaid by the virus. The remainder of the audit was conducted by email over the next month.

“We got Covid bad—really bad. We went to one hospital multiple times for fluids and another hospital to get infusions,” she explains. “We ended up being physically drained almost the entire month of December, but at least we knew what was wrong.”

What David and Debbie didn’t know? Despite dealing with an anemic farm economy and the effects of ill-time flooding, the couple was about to feel the bureaucratic hammer of DOL and be forced onto the agency’s merry-go-round.

Nothing to Hide
There was no tobacco left to strip—at least not in quantities requiring a volume of H-2A workers.

“It’s pretty simple,” Debbie says. “Heavy rains and flooding ended our tobacco work. We didn’t have tobacco to put up in the barn. We told our H-2A workers they could stay and do other jobs, but they wanted to go home. No problem. It had turned cold and I didn’t blame them. They signed the proper legal forms and voluntarily went back to Mexico. The government now says we fired them. That’s crazy and untrue; we did not.”

“The auditors, attorneys, and judges all were from DOL,” says Debbie. “The same people who made and enforced the rules, were the same people who judged whether we followed the rules.

(Photo by Institute for Justice)

The H-2A crew originally was scheduled to leave Jan. 30, 2022. Instead, as described by Debbie, they left December 11, 2021.

“Trying to get all the paperwork done with the workers, while we were at our worst with Covid, was seriously difficult. But we just wanted to do things right by everyone. We had nothing to hide. We want the public to know what happened; DOL does not.”

Dropping a Bomb
The months ticked by with no word from DOL regarding the audit. “I started getting worried that I’d missed something in the mail,” Debbie explains. “Before I knew it, over a year had passed since they visited our farm. I emailed them in January 2023 to check in.”

DOL responded. How about sharing a meal in Harrison County?

“We met the DOL guys at a nice restaurant in town, with no idea about what they were about to do. There was two of them, but later it was obvious that only one of them was an auditing official. The other guy barely said a word and we figured out he was there as backup in case things got out of hand. They knew what they were about to hit us with.”

Seated at a diner, 13 months after visiting Triple R Farms, DOL dropped a bomb and the first mention of any violations: You owe $27,000 in back wages for 11 H-2A workers.

“That’s ridiculous,” David replied. “The H-2A guys didn’t work because they weren’t here. They weren’t here because they wanted to leave.”

“No way,” Debbie added. “The workers left voluntarily. They all signed saying so.”

While delivering the $27,000 penalty at the diner, the DOL rep knew there was a deeper layer to the cake. The $27,000 was a mere portion of the overall penalty.

(DOL did not respond to Agweb.com questions regarding the Ross/Triple R Farms case.)

“They never even told us at the restaurant, but they knew the whole time,” Debbie says. “We owed a further $42,000 in penalties, on top of the $27,000. They never said a word.”

Several weeks later, in late February, a DOL letter arrived in the Ross’ mailbox: You owe another $42,000 for firing H-2A workers, along with associated penalties.

Grand total? $70,049.93.

Pay Up or Bounce

What was the government’s basis for the $70,000-plus?

DOL’s H-2A rules include a three-fourths guarantee “to offer the worker employment for a total number of work hours equal to at least three-fourths of the workdays.”

However, there is no three-fourths guarantee if an H-2A worker “voluntarily abandons employment before the end of the contract period.”

Further, H-2A workers can be released based on farm conditions “beyond the control of the employer due to fire, weather, or other Act of God that makes the fulfillment of the contract impossible, the employer may terminate the work contract.”

(Photo by Institute for Justice)

“We fired no one,” Debbie emphasizes. “They went home voluntarily. On top of that, we had a flood that meant we didn’t have enough pounds of tobacco to function normally.”

Debbie’s protestations to DOL had no effect. “Our H-2A workers left of their own accord, while we were in terrible health from COVID, and I did my best with the paperwork. DOL blamed me for not calling their office in that moment with details, but it’s a miracle I was able to get the paperwork signed at all, considering we were deathly ill. What were we supposed to do? Force someone to stay? The whole deal is beyond unjust.”

Pay the $70,000 toe-tag or bounce into agency court, according to DOL. “We didn’t have a clue what we were up against,” Debbie says. “The auditors, attorneys, and judges all were from DOL. The same people who made and enforced the rules, were the same people who judged whether we followed the rules. It was a stacked deck like you can’t believe and about as un-American as you can get.”

In the Bull’s-Eye
On March 12, 2026, represented by Institute for Justice (IJ), David and Debbie sued DOL in district court, seeking to stop the agency from forcing the couple into in-house court.

“If DOL wants to impose fines, it should have to go to a real court where the Rosses would get an independent judge and a jury of their peers,” says IJ attorney Rob Johnson.

The Rosses are trapped within the closed loop of a single agency: Pursuit by DOL agents, enforcement by DOL personnel, trial by DOL attorneys, testimony by DOL witnesses, decision by DOL judge, and review by DOL appellate judges.

(Photo by Institute for Justice)

“DOL is forcing a farm family to defend itself against a huge, punishing fine in the agency’s own in-house courts, where the only judge they can get is an agency bureaucrat,” Johnson continues. “That, in no way, is a fair or just proceeding.”

Is Johnson correct? He’s absolutely in the bull’s-eye, says the U.S. Supreme Court.

A Dark Hole
In a seismic 2024 ruling, SEC v. Jarkesy, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that citizens are entitled to a jury trial when hit with civil penalties imposed by administrative law judges.

Jarkesy tore down the walls of in-house courts, where the federal government (including USDA-NRCS) has sky-high win rates. In 2015, former FTC Commissioner Joshua Wright shed light on a phenomenally high agency win rate from roughly 1995 to 2015: “In 100 percent of cases where the administrative law judge ruled in favor of the FTC staff, the Commission (appeals board) affirmed liability; and in 100 percent of the cases in which the administrative law judge found no liability, the Commission reversed. This is a strong sign of an unhealthy and biased (emphasis added) institutional process.”

“We were presumed guilty from the start, and it’s shameful what they did to us,” says New Jersey producer Joe Marino.

(Photo by IJ)

DOL’s in-house system levies major penalties: In 2024 alone, according to an IJ release, DOL collected $4.9 million in back wages and imposed $5.8 million in penalties on agricultural employers. In many cases, DOL does not return money to workers, but either keeps it or passes it to Congress.

Echoing Jarkesy, and similar to the Ross case, brothers Joe and Russell Marino, owners of Sun Valley Orchards in New Jersey and represented by IJ, challenged DOL (Sun Valley v. DOL) after a nine-year, bureaucratic grind centered on an H-2A paperwork violation and over $500,000 in fines. In July 2025, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that DOL violated the Constitution and that charges against the Marinos had to be brought in an independent court. (DOL is contesting the ruling and asking SCOTUS to hear the case.)

Joe Marino contends he was deemed guilty out of the gate by DOL. “They took us down a dark, dark hole that I can’t describe properly with words,” he described after his court victory. “I never thought honesty and facts wouldn’t matter in America, but that’s what happened. We were presumed guilty from the start, and it’s shameful what they did to us.”

Yet, if the U.S. Supreme Court and the 3rd Circuit both ruled on the unconstitutionality of in-house courts, why are David and Debbie Ross still trapped behind DOL walls and denied a trial by jury?

Real Court, Real Jury
The Ross case was assigned to DOL Judge Willow Fort, a long-time DOL player. According to the Rosses’ complaint, Fort “has been employed by DOL for over half of her legal career ... She worked as a trial attorney in the DOL’s Office of the Regional Solicitor representing the Secretary of Labor in enforcement actions beginning in 2011, and was appointed as a DOL ALJ in Cincinnati, Ohio in November 2021.”

“People might think there’s no way something this unjust happens in America, but it does,” says Debbie. “It’s happening on our farm to us.’”

(Photo by Institute for Justice)

Fort has denied the Rosses’ requests for a jury trial and is proceeding with an in-house DOL trial, and scheduled the next hearing for September 2026—during the middle of harvest.

“This has got to stop,” Johnson says. “Right now, we have agencies across the administrative state that are just trying to come up with excuses and distinctions to not apply Jarkesy. The Ross case is certainly one where the U.S. Supreme Court justices have said one thing, but the administrative state is doing another. It’s up to the courts to force the bureaucrats in this country to follow the law. These types of cases are happening across the country.”

“Bottom line,” Johnson adds, “if the government wants to take your money, they should have to take you to a real court with a real jury, and not an agency bureaucrat.

As for Debbie, she contends DOL’s actions are “outrageous and abusive.”

“We live year to year in farming, and can’t survive by losing $70,000. My husband is 69 and I’m 65, and we farm with tremendous risk and make just enough to keep going every year. David has had triple bypass surgery and five stints, and I’ve had open heart surgery for a bad valve, and the stress of this, on top of the fines, is almost too much to handle. We’re not afraid to work daylight to dark, but then government does this to us? Maybe $70,000 is not so much to some people, but it’s everything to us.”

“I actually thought we could explain the facts and somebody at DOL would listen,” she adds. “Now I know better. But if DOL won’t listen, we should be entitled to a jury and judge that will listen.”

For more from Chris Bennett (@ChrisBennettMS or cbennett@farmjournal.com or 662-592-1106), see:

When Conservation Backfires: Landowner Defeats Feds in Mindboggling Private Property Case

Corn and Cocaine: Roger Reaves and the Most Incredible Farm Story Never Told

How the Deep State Tried, and Failed, to Crush an American Farmer

Game of Horns: Iowa Poacher’s Antler Addiction Leads to Historic Bust

Ghost Cattle: $650M Ponzi Rocks Livestock Industry, Money Still Missing

Iowa Farmland Values Rise 1.3% As Market Shows “A Little Bit Of Optimism”

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 18:51:49 GMT

In its spring survey of farm managers, real estate agents, and bankers, the Iowa Realtors Land Institute reports a slight trend upward in farmland values.

Market Appears to Be Firm

“Across the nine crop reporting districts, from September 1 to March 1, statewide values were up 1.3% so finally we’re seeing a little bit of optimism in land market,” says survey coordinator Matt Vegter of Hertz Farm Management “It’s a pretty flat market year over year, but at least a little bit more optimism here in the last six months.”

Vegter adds he was surprised all districts were up, and he notes eastern Iowa was higher than central or western Iowa.

Buyers Seek Quality

Over the past year, this group’s research has shown Iowa farmland with a 0.1% net gain.

The highest values for high quality crop land acres are:

Northwest: $15,297
East central: $14,824
Northeast: $14,446

The most recent study from the Chicago Federal Reserve pegged a 5% increase in “good” Iowa farmland from October 1, 2025 to January 1, 2026.

Slight Uptick in Values Despite Market Headwinds

Respondents say the top three factors influencing the land market are commodity prices, supply of land, and interest rates—in that order. Despite tough profitability in commodity production, the survey points to limited inventory continuing to support land values.

More than 70% of respondents say the volume of land for sale is similar to 10% less than one year ago. Whereas only 12% say more land is available today than 12 months ago.

The survey coordinators point to the announced government payments providing additional support.

“Motivated buyers are still active and well-priced farms are still moving. We’re seeing that from both producers looking to expand and investors who continue to view farmland as a reliable long-term asset,” Rebecca Frantz of Hertz Farm Management says. “Inventory has been tighter, and we don’t expect that to change dramatically in the near term. When sellers do bring quality land to the market, there are still buyers ready to act. That balance is what’s keeping the market on solid footing.”

Not surprisingly, since September Iowa pasture values increased 2.6% over the past six months thanks to steady cattle prices. Also of note, timber and recreational land values rose 2.2%.

What’s In Store for Iowa Farmland Values?

As for a farmland values outlook, 70% of survey participants responded they expect land values to increase 0–10% over the next five years, and 5% expect lower values in five years.
And regarding who is buying land, the survey reports 67% of buyers are farmers or farmers with 1031 funds.

44 Million Acres: The New Frontier of Farm Consolidation and Growth

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 17:46:42 GMT

At the 2026 Top Producer Summit , Farm Journal Intelligence unveiled new farmland insights derived from predictive modeling and deep-data analysis. The research focused on the shifting landscape of land acquisition, identifying which operations are at risk of consolidation, who is positioned for growth and where the most significant opportunities lie.

Here are the six primary findings for farm businesses:

1. Scale Does Not Immune Operations from Consolidation.

(Farm Journal)

While smaller operations face the highest risk — with 58% of small farms “at risk” for sale or acquisition before 2030 — size is not a complete safeguard. Research shows the risk of consolidation or ownership transfer never drops below 27%, even for the largest operations. Furthermore, crop diversity made minimal impact on these odds; the likelihood of transition remains constant whether a farm produces one crop or more than 11.

2. Geography Trumps Diversification.

(Farm Journal)

Regional location is increasingly becoming a primary driver of financial success, often outweighing the benefits of operational diversification. As regional market divides grow, farmers and ranchers are finding that local market conditions and individual circumstances dictate their trajectory more. State-level or even county-level effects are more indicative of their situation than national trends.

3. The 44-Million-Acre Transition.

(Farm Journal)

Nearly 15% of American cropland is projected to change hands within the next three years, driven by generational transfers, continued consolidation and economic pressures. Farm Journal data identifies the Midwest as the epicenter of this shift, with roughly 12 million acres likely to transition. Nationwide, that total reaches a staggering 44 million acres.

4. Mapping the “Sweet Spot” for Expansion.

(Farm Journal)

By plotting cost per cropland acre against the volume of land likely to transition, clear opportunities for expansion emerge. For producers looking to grow their footprint, the most viable opportunities are currently concentrated in Kansas, Texas, North Dakota, Missouri, and Oklahoma, according to this research.

5. Integrity Is the Top Currency in Rental Markets.

(Farm Journal)

When more than 400 landowners were surveyed about tenant selection, integrity ranked as the most critical factor. Interestingly, age was reported as the least important factor. For producers looking to secure rented ground, a reputation for character and experience outweighs both seniority and youth.

6. The “Willingness” Factor in Technology.

(Farm Journal)

Producers most inclined to expand share a common trait: a higher comfort level and rate of adoption with technology. Crucially, this is not necessarily tied to technical skill or existing expertise, but rather to mindset and action. The most growth-oriented producers are defined by their willingness to try new technologies rather than their current mastery of them.

Download the Full Report

Farmer Nabs Thieves, Exposes Flood of Agriculture Theft by Drug Addicts

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 20:03:52 GMT

When Sam Krautscheid raised a pistol to freeze two thieves, he was aiming at an epidemic of agriculture crime. In an era of heavy drug addiction and minimal prosecutions, farms are the soft underbelly of rural crime, and the crisis is deepening.

Growing crops in Grant County, Washington, one of America’s hottest ag crime zones, Krautscheid faces an onslaught of outlaws steadily stealing and destroying equipment. Losses to theft have become part and parcel of agriculture—a standard business consideration.

“Defend your farm or lose everything,” he says. “This is only getting worse and everyone knows it.”

Picking the Wrong Farmer
On Sept. 9, 2023, roughly 12 miles from the Columbia River, on the eastern side of the Cascade Curtain, Krautscheid finished baling hay, piled three sons into his pickup, and rumbled toward town for a meal and a country music concert. It was a hair before 7 p.m., at the tailend of a summer filled with repeated 911 calls by Krautscheid to report stolen goods.

Less than a mile from his home, at the crossing of two major highways, Krautscheid approached a gravel lot containing multiple farm-related utility buildings: storage shed, three double-wide trailers, and a house—all vacant.

On Sept. 9, 2023, a pair of outlaws chose the wrong farmer to rob: Sam Krautscheid.

(Photo courtesy of SK)

A four-door sedan, parked beside the main shed, caught Krautscheid’s eye. “No. Shouldn’t have been there.”

He pulled over, reached for a Kimber .45, and exited the truck, ordering his three boys to remain with the vehicle. He walked to the car, peered in the windows, and observed the backseat odds-and-ends of burglary: massage table, gas cans, weed whacker. Immediately, Krautscheid called the police, reporting a likely theft in progress.

As Krautscheid neared the building, pistol drawn, an arm wrapped around the corner. He barked an order as two thieves came into plain view. “Get down. Get on the ground and don’t come any closer. I don’t want to shoot, but I will shoot.”

Thief No. 1, closest to Krautscheid, folded. Thief No. 2 advanced, armed with a billy club—a weapon of attack and certainly not a pry tool for larceny. “I didn’t know what kind of drugs were affecting him, and it took me yelling out several times for him to stop and realize I was armed.”

“I kept backing up to make sure he couldn’t close the distance,” Krautscheid continues. “I was not gonna let him around the corner at all because my boys were at the pickup.”

Krautscheid held the men, Glenn Richard, 45, and Jesus Rangel, 28, until police arrived. Both already were on a revolving door policy with law enforcement and the courts. Richard had 37 failures-to-appear; Rangel had 17 failures-to-appear.

“One guy got sentenced to zero jail time,” Krautscheid recalls. “The other guy with the billy club got 12 months of time and 12 months of community custody.”

“In so many terrible ways, that was just a normal day on the farm for us. It’s a snapshot of how bad crime is in our state. As farmers, small business owners, and people who live and work in rural areas, we’re paying for the decisions of politicians.”

Catch and Release
Since the Richard-and-Rangel bust in 2023, the pace of Grant County ag crime has increased, Krautscheid says.

Breathtaking to the eye, his geography is home to a wide variety of crops from peas to carrots to sweet corn to potatoes to 200-bushel wheat. However, the region is parched and often receives a mere 6” of rain per year. Irrigation is a near absolute, featuring pivots laced with copper wiring running to pumps and circles.

The Krautscheid family of Grant County, Washington.

(Photo courtesy of SK)

Copper is a crime magnet, particularly amid the highest base metal prices in history. Fentanyl and methamphetamine addicts inflict tens of thousands of dollars in equipment damage to gain a few hundred dollars on a backdoor sale of stolen copper.

Approximately two-and-a-half hours east of Seattle, Krautscheid manages Hefty Seed Quincy and grows roughly 2,400 acres of crops. He describes persistent losses to drug thieves. “They strip everything. They take what they can get and leave. Whether it’s the wire between the pump and panel, or the wire to the transformers, they’ll take it all from a pivot system, depending on how much time they have.”

The theft is farm-wide, far beyond pivots. “It’s not uncommon to pull up to a tractor and find your batteries stolen. It’s one thing to steal batteries, but they cut the leads into the motors, because it’s quicker than loosening the bolts. Last winter, they busted the conduit and ripped it right out of a pump motor. They’ll take anything. We have wind machines in our orchards running off Ford V-10 motors. They’ll steal the motors out of the orchards.”

Krautscheid bleeds a bare minimum of $10,000 per year to theft and damage—far higher in some years. Extrapolating Krautscheid’s losses across grower, county, and a state with roughly 32,000 farms and ranches, the totals are staggering.

“We have wonderful people here, but 95% of our problems come from the few that ruin everything and threaten our livelihoods,” says Krautscheid.

(Photo by SK)

“We’re at the point where we’re blocking back roads and entrances to properties and gating and trying to find solutions to keep people from getting into these areas. But even if you catch them, or know who they are, the court system will let’em go.”

In 2024, one of Krautscheid’s county neighbors placed an air tag on a batch of copper wire that was subsequently stolen. “He tracked it to the new location immediately that morning,” Krautscheid details. “The sheriff’s office arrived and nobody got arrested because the thief claimed another guy gave him the wire. That’s what they always say, because they understand how to get off. It’s repeat crazy.”

Daily Vigil
A solution starts at the top, Krautscheid insists.

“If you steal from a store in Washington and the total is less than $700 or so, the law basically leaves you alone. Ultimately, that kind of nonsense comes right from our state politicians. They keep making the rules worse. One of the most terrible things you can be in Washington State is a property owner. People are moving away non-stop to get away from a political climate gone nuts.”

“Defend your farm or lose everything,” Krautscheid says. “This is only getting worse and everyone knows it.”

(Photo by SK)

“We can’t even get a monitoring system on the criminals because it costs an outrageous $5 per day,” he adds. “How can a cell phone cost $50 per month, and a simple monitoring device cost three times that?”

Back on his farm, Krautscheid maintains a vigil. Every day.

“If I wasn’t in agriculture, I’d probably join the mass exodus of people leaving. Instead, my goal is to make Grant County a horrible place for people to do crime. We have wonderful people here, but 95% of our problems come from the few that ruin everything and threaten our livelihoods. And they’ll keep on until the day our state legislators are forced to do something.”

For more from Chris Bennett (@ChrisBennettMS or cbennett@farmjournal.com or 662-592-1106), see:

When Conservation Backfires: Landowner Defeats Feds in Mindboggling Private Property Case

Corn and Cocaine: Roger Reaves and the Most Incredible Farm Story Never Told

How the Deep State Tried, and Failed, to Crush an American Farmer

Game of Horns: Iowa Poacher’s Antler Addiction Leads to Historic Bust

Ghost Cattle: $650M Ponzi Rocks Livestock Industry, Money Still Missing

Preserving the Future: How Tennessee is Protecting Farmland While Driving Development

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 19:06:29 GMT

How is Tennessee, one of the fastest-growing states in the country, balancing economic development while still protecting farmland? Gov. Bill Lee says it’s one of the state’s greatest challenges, but he believes there is a way to do both.

Last year, Lee signed the Tennessee Farmland Preservation Act into law, tasking the Tennessee Department of Agriculture with developing a grant program to incentivize farmland owners to voluntarily enroll their land in a permanent conservation easement.

“We lose 9 acres an hour to development,” Lee said at the 2026 Top Producer Summit . “We recognize that agriculture is our No. 1 driver of our economy, so we have to preserve farmland. This act will incentivize farm property, and agriculture property in particular, to be put in land trusts so it can never be developed. This effort has been widely accepted by farmers and is beginning to take effect.”

Where is the Push for Economic Development in Tennessee?

Although economic development is taking place in many different forms, the state of Tennessee is seeing a big push for data centers. For some farmers, this could be the revenue generator they’ve been waiting on, but for others, it’s a contentious issue.

“If we are going to have a data center, it has to work for all of us,” Lee says. “Most important is that the impact on the grid for power is one that our state can effectively manage.”

He believes the data centers and the companies behind them should be partners with the state and with regulatory bodies.

“They should come in and say, ‘If we’re going to come here, this is what we will deliver to the state,’” Lee says. “Besides just the investment in dollars and what they will take from the grid, how will they deliver to the state?”

AI, a major data center and supercomputing facility in Memphis, is an example of a good partnership, he says.

“They are producing their own power and contributing to the grid. It’s a great partnership and model for things that we should be looking for in the future,” Lee adds.

How is Tennessee Helping Farmers?

Tennessee crop farmers are feeling pain right now like their peers across the country.

“It’s a tough environment for crop farmers,” Lee says. “We’ve seen the staggering losses some of our producers have experienced. But they’re very resilient people. They know that a few years ago, crop prices were good. Right now, they’re really bad. A lot of patience is required in farming, and they know that.”

Stability and predictability are nearly impossible to have in agriculture, he says. But he’s working to help provide stability and predictability from a federal standpoint through ag policy efforts.

“I think that’s what farmers look for more than anything,” Lee says. “They don’t want a rescue or an immediate solution to the problem they have. I think farmers want some indication of what stability looks like and what predictability looks like and what they can expect in the future.”

From a livestock standpoint, Tennessee has been investing heavily in the development of more local processing options.

“We do believe that locally sourced products are helpful to our own ag community,” he says. “To the degree that we can facilitate that in this state, we ought to do it. We’ve broadly expanded our ability to process beef in this state. We’re not nearly where we need to be, but we’re headed in the right direction.”

Creating a Pipeline for Agriculture

Lee is passionate about thinking about the future and creating pathways for skilled trades, especially in the agriculture industry. His experience running a company in the skilled trades business — plumbers, pipefitters, electricians and welders — has helped him see the need firsthand.

“One of the most important things we can do is recognize that kids’ giftings are really different,” Lee says.

Lee’s passion to better meet the demand for skilled labor came to fruition through the Governor’s Investment in Vocational Education (GIVE) Act.

“It created, initially, a $1-million program in high schools for vocational, technical and agricultural education programs,” he says. “It led to $500 million in middle school career and technical education programs, and ultimately $1 billion in our colleges of technology that deliver ag education, technical education and vocational education. We have removed the waitlist for our colleges of technology. We’re delivering 10,000 more workers a year who are skilled tradesmen.”

He believes it’s one of the reasons Tennessee has so many global companies making the decision to come to the state.

“We have a lot of activity here economically because the state with the workers is going to win every time,” Lee says. “We started seven years ago by creating a workforce that was much more diverse than what it had been previously, and that includes agricultural education.”

As a cattle producer and proud Tennessean, Lee says he’s most proud of how he’s helped support the state’s future in agriculture by investing in youth and the technologies that will be the future.

“It will be fun for me to look back years from now and say, ‘I’m really glad we did that. Ag was No. 1 in Tennessee when I was there, and ag is still No. 1 in Tennessee now that I’ve been gone,’” he says. “That’s what I hope for.”

When Conservation Backfires: Landowner Defeats Feds in Mindboggling Private Property Case

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 15:44:07 GMT

Atop a swelling pile of bureaucratic abuses waged against American property owners, the ordeal of Gray Skipper is standalone. The government used a phantom snake to gain permanent control of 10,000 acres belonging to Skipper.

“I want people to find out how power-hungry FWS is in our case,” he says.

In 2015, Fish & Wildlife Service dropped a critical habitat designation on Skipper’s rural property in the name of a reptile that did not exist on the land. However, in 2025, after FWS action was exposed, a federal judge excoriated FWS behavior, labeling the agency’s actions as “arbitrary and capricious.” Translated: A court tossed FWS off Skipper’s property.

“On our land, my family’s attitude has always been, ‘Do the right thing and everything will be fine.’ Didn’t work with FWS.”

A family betrayed over a ghost.

Facts Be Damned
Conservation is a hefty battering ram in the hands of a bureaucrat.

Since 1902, the Skipper family has owned and managed timberland in southwestern Alabama’s Clarke County. In 1956, they began participating in the state’s Wildlife Management Area (WMA) program, opening acreage for public hunting and wildlife conservation. “All the generations of my family have been proud to be involved in conservation and didn’t ask or expect anything back,” Gray Skipper told Farm Journal in 2023.

“What landowner wants FWS to show up at their gate?” Skipper asks. “Really, who in the hell actually trusts FWS anymore?”

(Photo courtesy of PLF)

Across decades, his family’s pristine timberland played a direct role in boosting whitetail deer populations (and eastern wild turkey) across multiple states beyond Alabama. On paper and in practice, the environmental marriage was a remarkable success.

However, the Skippers’ preservation efforts backfired. By protecting original habitat and welcoming researchers for decades, the pristine ground attracted government attention. As in, no good deed goes unpunished.

In February 2020, FWS designated 300,000-plus acres as critical habitat for the black pinesnake, including over 10,000 acres belonging to Skipper. Despite only a single black pinesnake sighting on the property across almost 25 years (including a comprehensive 2008 state survey that found no pinesnakes, as in zero), FWS declared Skipper’s land as “occupied” by the black pinesnake. (Also, FWS officials were aware they had no authority to reintroduce the snake, i.e., they knew they were creating a paper haven for the reptile.)

Adult black pinesnakes (non-venomous) range from 4’-6’ in length, and are typically dark brown to black in color.

(Photo public domain)

Brazenly, FWS based the critical habitat designation on soil type and tree species—not the presence of snakes. Facts be damned: Skipper’s land, considered by the feds as “critical” for the survival of the black pinesnake—had no pinesnakes.

“Office bureaucrats that preach about saving species and taking care of the land are hypocrites because they do nothing but hurt their own cause by breaking trust with private citizens,” Skipper said. “What landowner wants FWS to show up at their gate? Really, who in the hell actually trusts FWS anymore?”

(FWS declined Agweb.com interview requests regarding the Skipper litigation.)

With the stroke of a pen, Skipper’s land and business fell under the regulatory weight of a federal decree that permanently altered the value of his acres and silviculture operation. FWS insisted economic loss to Skipper would be minimal—a remarkable contention considering development restrictions, permit requirements on activity from herbicide applications to roadbuilding, potential civil and criminal liability during timber harvest, and value perception in the public eye.

By protecting original habitat and welcoming researchers for decades, the Skippers’ pristine ground attracted government attention.

(Photo courtesy of PLF)

FWS assured Skipper that restrictions would be inconsequential. “I can read the critical habitat rules for myself,” Skipper emphasized, “and it is chockful of restrictions. We’re at a point in this country where bureaucrats can lie to the public and nobody can do a thing about it. Here’s a restriction: If I alter the habitat or kill a pinesnake, I’m subject to a $50,000 fine and up to one year in prison. Does that sound kinda restrictive?”

Swinging Gate
In 2022, represented pro bono by Pacific Legal Foundation , Skipper took FWS to court (Skipper v. FWS). In August 2025, at the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Alabama, Chief Judge Jeffrey Beaverstock ruled in Skipper’s favor, and labeled FWS’ critical habitat designation and its economic impact analysis as “arbitrary and capricious.”

“The Skippers opened their gate to preservation, conservation, and public hunting, and the gate swung back and hit the family,” says Scott Jones, CEO of Forest Landowners Association.

(Photo courtesy of FLA)

Further, Beaverstock blistered FWS’ reasoning and behavior as: unsupported by competent evidence, hollow exercise, without a full and fair consideration, abuse of discretion, and not the product of reasoned judgment.

“We see a lot of surprising cases of government overreach in our line of work,” says PLF attorney Jeffrey McCoy, “but this one was far beyond reason. There was an arrogance by FWS, telling the Skippers: ‘Don’t worry, this habitat designation will never cause you any problems, and we’re going to force you either way.’ It was an extreme position even compared to other cases, and I think that’s reflected in how thoroughly the judge rebuked the agency.”

“FWS and other agencies know that no matter how extreme their regulations are, most landowners cannot fight back long-term,” McCoy continues. “The agencies have nearly unlimited resources and they use your own tax dollars to tie you up in court. Things change when you have landowners, like the Skippers, willing to stand up, and an organization, like PLF, to take it into a courtroom.”

“On our land, my family’s attitude has always been, ‘Do the right thing and everything will be fine.’ Didn’t work with FWS.”

(Photo courtesy of PLF)

As a co-plaintiff alongside Skipper, Scott Jones , CEO of the Forest Landowners Association , a nonprofit representing approximately 5,000 family forest landowners and 50 million acres of woodland in 45 states, summed the case: “The Skippers opened their gate to preservation, conservation, and public hunting, and the gate swung back and hit the family … Regulation without reason, good science, and recognition of property rights is a danger, and people need to recognize that what has happened to the Skippers can happen to any landowner.”

And all for the survival of a snake not even found on the land in question.

For more from Chris Bennett (@ChrisBennettMS or cbennett@farmjournal.com or 662-592-1106), see:

Corn and Cocaine: Roger Reaves and the Most Incredible Farm Story Never Told

How the Deep State Tried, and Failed, to Crush an American Farmer

Game of Horns: Iowa Poacher’s Antler Addiction Leads to Historic Bust

Ghost Cattle: $650M Ponzi Rocks Livestock Industry, Money Still Missing

America’s Top 100 Landowners: The Totals Are Bigger And Consolidation Continues

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 17:29:58 GMT

The Land Report released its annual list of top 100 landowners in the U.S., and the popularity of land means the big keep getting bigger.

There is a new No. 1 biggest owner, Stan Kroenke, who surged to the top spot after acquiring the 937,000-acre Singleton ranch in New Mexico. He now owns more than 2.7 million acres.

Since its inception in 2007, The Land Report’s top spot has been held by someone with at least 2 million acres as Ted Turner was the first holder of the top title.

“2 million has always been the floor,” says Eric O’Keefe, editor of the Land Report.

O’Keefe says this report highlights the trend of landowners doubling down in this asset class.

“There is room at the top for additional acquisitions,” he says. “I don’t expect this to be the last from Kroenke Ranches. I don’t expect this to be the last from the Emersons or the Reeds or the other major timberland owners. I expect that the list will change and re-reorder in years to come.”

The top 100 landowners illustrate how more investment money is coming into land and bringing consolidation.

“It is a function of there’s more money out there than there is land available, and on the investor side of things they like the non-correlation with the stock market, and the positive correlation with inflation, and that’s what’s driving a lot of this interest in farmland,” says Steve Bruere, president of Peoples Company.

O’Keefe gives the example of Jeff Bezos, who in 2007 was No. 23 with 290,000 acres. In 2026, Bezos is ranked No. 21 with 462,000 acres.

“He’s gone up two slots, in 20 years,” he says. “What that tells me is that there is increasing concentration by leading landowners in that asset class. No. 100 in 2007 was 75,000 acres. Now it’s 170,000 acres. And so you’re seeing more individuals, more families, more family offices, more investors looking at land and accumulating greater concentrations.”

What Can Any Landowner Take Away From The Report?

It’s important to note, the top 100 listing is by quantity, which often is more plentiful in ranchland and forestland not row crop or specialty crop production. Bruere says, that doesn’t mean investment dollars aren’t going into row crop ground as well.

“It’s definitely a trend for these high net worth individual family office types are buying farmland,” he says. “I think the farmland market is going to stay pretty stable to maybe even get a little stronger, honestly, just because there’s so much interest in owning land.”

O’Keefe says it’s time to be bullish on land purchases if it’s available to you as an option.

“Buy that 20, that 40, that 160, that seems a little overpriced right now, but it’s going to, in the long run, increase the value of your current holdings, and it’s only going to go up,” O’Keefe says.

He also emphasizes optionality as a takeaway, looking at what monetization is possible from the land.

“I look at Kroenke Ranches, they purchased the Wagner in 2016, more than half a million acres of deeded land behind one fence in Texas,” O’Keefe says. “It had been run primarily as a cattle operation. It had some farming, and it certainly had a wildlife component. Now it has 130 wind turbines that generate 367 megawatts of electricity that can power more than 100,000 homes.”

Farm Alarm: 8,000-acre Grower Considers Cuts, Doubts Midwest Corn-Soybean Monolith

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 14:48:16 GMT

Time to pull the handbrake. In November 2025, Ron Robbins placed 8,000 acres of farmland on the scales, spurred by two successive years of financial strain. He dropped grading categories atop his corn and soybean acres for a tale-of-the-tape judgement. Keep, improve, or cull.

“Call it a crossroads or breaking point, but traditional row crop farms are in serious trouble, and I believe the agriculture industry has gotten complacent,” Robbins says. “If you don’t step back now and take a detailed look at your acres, it could be a terribly costly mistake that I might call blind ambition.”

Nailing Numbers
In 2025, Robbins’ end-of-year crop inventory value was $1.3 million less than his end-of-year value in 2023. “We had good yields and good prices in 2023. We had decent yields and horrible prices in 2024. We had terribly challenging weather, horrible yields, and horrible prices in 2025.”

“The crop math is extremely difficult, and then who’s to say things will get better, stay the same, or get worse? After this past season in 2025, I wasn’t going to put my head in the sand and hope. It was time for a hard look at each farm, each field, our process, and how we can improve going into 2026 and beyond.”

“We now have a concrete framework to justify cutting acres if needed,” Robbins says. “It’s preparation regardless of what happens next year.”

(Photo by Robbins Grain & North Dairy Harbor)

A skip from the east end of Lake Ontario, Robbins Grain & North Dairy Harbor is tucked in the relative flats of the Lake Plain region in Jefferson County, New York. The overall operation includes 1,600 dairy cows, trucking, ag tourism, and 8,000 acres of corn silage, corn grain, soybeans, wheat, and hay.

Scattered across a 20-mile radius from his main headquarters, Robbins’ field sizes are small, averaging 40-50 acres, and soil diversity is extremely diverse, ranging from well-drained loamy limestone to heavy clay. Despite diminutive size, it’s not unusual for a single field to contain four distinct soil types—contributing to a complicated management dance.

“We’ve got feed hitting blacktop. We’ve got manure hitting blacktop. We’ve got labor hitting blacktop. It’s expensive, period, and the tiniest factors are big deals,” says Robbins. “Spread manure; plant crops; and harvest hay, all at the same time. You better have the numbers nailed down.”

As he speaks, in January 2026, unharvested 2025 corn remains in many New York State fields. “Because of very late planting last spring and a very dry summer, there’s 15-20% of grain corn acres still standing that basically never fully matured”. It speaks to the crucial need to be timely at planting. Just one more reason we’ve implemented a grading scale. Fortunately, ours was all harvested timely.”

Time to call balls and strikes.

Adios to Guesswork
In November 2025, Robbins and his team gathered around an HQ table and shared a nine-course meal of farm data.

He placed acreage into four five-year-average planting date categories, alongside five-year-average yields: early, mid-early, mid-late and late. “We began considering each piece based on fertility, distance, and whether issues could be fixed with tile, lime, manure, or something else.”

First, Robbins noted 1,000 acres of top-drawer, highest-yielding ground—the earliest fields planted year-in and year-out, regardless of weather, between April 25 to May 5.

Scattered across a 20-mile radius from his main headquarters, Robbins’ field sizes are small, averaging 40-50 acres.

(Photo by Robbins Grain & North Dairy Harbor)

Second, he tagged 1,500 mid-early acres—accessible for planting and manure spreading in most years, May 5 to May 15.

Third, he identified 1,500 mid-late corn and soybean acres that generally are planted between May 15 and May 25, along with 1,500 acres of hay ground that must be harvested for hay silage in this same time frame.

Fourth, the late bunch, i.e., all acres planted after May 25, typically poorly-drained and the furthest away from the main farm. “These are acres we will focus on for improvements where possible, and if not possible, we’ll seed them to a grass hay crop for heifer forage or consider dropping the land.”

The result?

He’ll fallow 400 acres in 2026, designating it for improvements, including pushing back brush rows and tree lines, tile drainage, ditch cleaning, heavy manure applications, and planting fall ryegrass or wheat or triticale.

Additionally, of approximately 4,700 total corn and soybean acres, he’ll shift 500 (heavy clay soil) from soybeans to corn. “We are trying to figure out why our heavy clay soils struggle to produce decent soybean yields, but seem to produce strong corn yields each year.”

“We now have a plan in place and we can match corn variety to acres better than ever. I don’t want my employees guessing about anything. We’ve got seed varieties designated for each category. For example, it’ll be 98-day to 102-day corn in the early category. If we get to May 5 and those acres aren’t planted, we move 94-day to 98-day corn. Again, no guessing.”

“Putting our acreage in these classifications is our first move, and we’ll make tighter adjustments as we go along,” Robbins continues. “One thing we won’t do is increase our acres because we’re maxed out. Maybe there’s nothing worse than taking on land you can’t manage properly. However, we now have a concrete framework to justify cutting acres if needed. It’s preparation regardless of what happens next year.”

(For more on producers considering acreage cuts, see: Farmland Shock: Georgia Grower Drops 3,000 Acres, Warns of Unplanted Ground in 2026 )

“We’re categorizing acres according to data,” Robbins adds. “All farms have tons of data, and so much of it goes unused, but right now row crop profitability is beyond tough, and we’re done with leaving our data untouched. The details are what matter. Who’s to say this downturn in the row crop economy won’t continue?”

Translated: Robbins is acting now in case the row crop rut becomes agriculture’s new normal.

Through a Glass Darkly
Good, bad, and ugly, fourth-generation Robbins doesn’t mince words.

“I’m very worried about the future of row crop agriculture, particularly out in the Midwest. For guys married to corn and soybeans, without diversity otherwise, that means all your eggs are in one basket. For the past several decades, the blueprint on many of those operations has been a focus on growth and getting bigger, but that may have meant losing sight of the true picture. Bigger is only better if timeliness and profitability make sense.”

“Call it a crossroads or breaking point, but traditional row crop farms are in serious trouble, and I believe the agriculture industry has gotten complacent,” Robbins says.

(Photo by Robbins Grain & North Dairy Harbor)

“Growth should mean a lot of things besides buying equipment or adding land,” Robbins notes. “It should equally mean adding a side business, increasing efficiency, improving profitability and, maybe most importantly, learning from mistakes by keeping your head up and looking at what’s coming or how things are changing.”

“Personally, I believe row crops are at a fork in the road,” Robbins concludes. “Every single farmer out there has a different management situation on their land, but my encouragement is to step back, take a hard look, analyze your acres in a systematic way like you’ve never done before, and determine what is best for long-term profitability, no matter how difficult the choices. Assume nothing, because the future of farming is very tough to see right now.”

For more from Chris Bennett (@ChrisBennettMS or cbennett@farmjournal.com or 662-592-1106), see:

Farmland Shock: Georgia Grower Drops 3,000 Acres, Warns of Unplanted Ground in 2026

Sticky Fingers: USDA Fraudster Steals $200M in Stunning Scam

Government Threatens Seizure of 85-Year-Old’s Entire Farm for Irrigating Wrong Field

Frontier Justice: Cowboy Posse Corners Deer Poacher in Buck-Wild Bust

Water Witch Keeps Dowsing Tradition Alive on Nebraska Farmland

Family Farm Wins Historic Case After Feds Violate Constitution and Ruin Business

County Shuts Down 15-Yr-Old’s Bait Stand on Family Farm, Threatens Daily Fines

Corn and Cocaine: Roger Reaves and the Most Incredible Farm Story Never Told

How the Deep State Tried, and Failed, to Crush an American Farmer

Game of Horns: Iowa Poacher’s Antler Addiction Leads to Historic Bust

Ghost Cattle: $650M Ponzi Rocks Livestock Industry, Money Still Missing

Will Land Values Remain Resilient in 2026 in The Face of a Farm Crisis?

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 14:59:10 GMT

While we may not see as many record eye-popping land sales in 2026, experts say they still anticipate the land market to remain resilient. After years of steady growth, the agricultural land market is shifting and stabilizing. That’s according to analysis from Farmers National Company.

“When we look to 2026, we look for the market to remain stable. We don’t see anything on the horizon that would indicate large fluctuations in land values,” says Colton Lacina, senior vice president of real estate operations. “There are some macro influential factors we are watching — whether that’s grain prices, the 2026 crop and also interest rates.”

He says this isn’t a sign of collapse, but a recalibration that reflects current commodity prices, input costs and regional production conditions.

“We aren’t anticipating the market to fall out, but we are with prolonged compressed margins in the commodity sector. We are anticipating the growth to slow down,” Lacina points out.

Land Market Still Resilient

Still, the resilience of land values has been a welcome surprise to Lacina and his company.

“I think it comes down to, fundamentally, supply and demand. Our supply has continued to be, throughout the last 18 months, historically low, and demand has remained stable. So, that really props up the resiliency of the market,” he adds.

That’s good news with four-year lows in grain prices, and particularly for farmers who own their land outright. That value is what’s keeping many of them in business with negative profits.

Regional Differences Emerge

Although land values are still high historically, current signs indicate a more complex market — driven by local and regional factors rather than nationwide trends. Of the eight regions Farmers National Company serves, Lacina says some are faring better than others.

“The core Midwest, the I-states and eastern Nebraska have remained much more stable than say the Southern regions where different commodity types or crop types, being cotton or rice, are seeing a little more weakness there. We’ve also seen marginal land slide,” Lacina says.

Farmers Still Main Buyers, But More Conservative

Lacina says active farmers remain the largest group of buyers, yet many are more cautious — weighing profitability concerns against long-term ownership goals. They focus on high-quality land within their established areas.

“In areas that we saw good yields in 2025, we’re seeing that translate into higher land values in areas that were impacted on yield. Producers being our largest buying sector, they are being more conservative and really analyzing those purchases,” he explains.

One bright spot has been increased value for range and pasture land with high cattle prices. Additionally, Lacina says they only expect land rental rates to cool by about 1.5% in 2026.

Farmland Shock: Georgia Grower Drops 3,000 Acres, Warns of Unplanted Ground in 2026

Mon, 05 Jan 2026 14:04:17 GMT

How deep is the farm crisis? Adios to acreage.

In November 2025, Alex Harrell, among the most highly reputed producers in the U.S., dropped an old-school grading scale, A to F, across his 6,000-acre operation and slashed almost half his ground, notifying 12 landlords in a three-week window. “I can’t speak to the rest of the country, but around here, generational growers are either cutting back, quitting, falling into Chapter 12, or grasping at straws.”

Spurred by crippling inputs, Harrell’s acreage drop is an alarming indication of an agriculture economy in dire straits. “There will be significant acres in my area that won’t be planted next year,” he says. “I’m seeing it with my own eyes in real time.”

“People don’t realize there was ground here in 2025 that didn’t get planted, but you can already see what’s developing for 2026. Guys are walking away.”

Down Comes the Ax
No fat left to trim. Nothing to burn but muscle. No way to outyield cold math.

“Something has to give when you go three years and more just spinning your wheels on net profit,” Harrell, 36, explains. “The numbers aren’t complicated. When fertilizer, chemical, and machinery costs go up 300% over a short span of time, everything is upside down, especially when commodities go in the tank.”

In 2025, Harrell grew 6,000 acres of corn, soybeans, cotton, and wheat in southwest Georgia’s Lee County. “Breaking even is bad enough in farming, but we’re all way below that around here. We are literally paying to farm—not getting paid to farm. Every year, it costs more to farm input-wise, and unless something changes with these retailers, I don’t see things changing. Based on that, I took a long look at my operation.”

“We’ve now got guys with all their land and equity burned up, and we’re seeing Chapter 12 bankruptcies every day,” Harrell says.

(Photo by Chris Bennett)

But what to do when there’s nothing left to cut on the farm? Cut the farm itself.

In November 2025, Harrell put his leased acreage under the microscope, under a seven-category lens subject to grades A through F:

1. How many miles away was the land?

2. How productive is the soil?

3. What was the water source (pond, creek, or well)?

4. How was irrigation powered (electric or diesel)?

5. On base acres, how productive was the farm related to PLC and ARC?

6. How did wildlife depredation factor for deer and wild pigs (and whether landowners allowed for shooting with deer permits)?

7. How much was rent?

Harrell axed any piece of ground that scored C through F in more than two categories. The reduction totaled 45% of his crop ground.

“It’s pretty straightforward. The only way I could figure out to make things work was to break down those farms individually and grade them on a scale. Then I dropped the ones that didn’t pass—and that included the very first irrigated farm I ever rented, and ground we’ve put 16, 17 crops on that I’ve been working for years. It was time to turn them loose. Like I said, that’s how bad the farm economy is around here. In some ways, I think the worst part is still to come, but people don’t realize that yet.”

No Bidding War
Harrell’s acreage chop may go deeper. “I’ve still got considerations to make on some farms. I’ve still got ground flirting on the line. I may have to make more calls to landlords.”

“We can grow most any variety of crop in the world right here,” Harrell describes, “but we’re at the point of seeing what happens when none of them will turn a profit due to the crazy input prices.”

(Photo by Chris Bennett)

Rent on irrigated ground in Harrell’s region typically runs $275-330 per acre. How did his landlords react when he dropped acres?

“I had one that offered to drop rent a little bit, but I understand because they’re used to having 10 guys sitting there waiting to rent that land. In my opinion, I don’t think they understand the shifting dynamic of the farm economy. This time, people are not going to be beating their doors down. I’m not saying their particular acres won’t get rented, but there’s definitely not going to be a bidding war.”

“Even last year in 2025, there was irrigated land down here that didn’t get worked. In 2026, there’ll be even more. I can’t speak for anyplace else in the U.S., but in southwest Georgia, this is what we’re seeing in farmland, especially marginal ground. It’s already happening.

Yield Forfeit
Prior to Harrell’s acreage slash, his operation stretched 21 miles east, 30 miles west, 15 miles north, and 15 miles south.

“In some ways, I think the worst part is still to come, but people don’t realize that yet.”

(Photo by Chris Bennett)

“I tightened the circle. I think my furthest farm is only going to be about 10 miles from me now. When you look at fuel, labor, time, and insurance involved in running up and down the road, that kills you whenever you put a tractor on a highway.

“Next, I’ve got to consider equipment and labor cuts to drop our insurance at least a little, at the same time keeping my eye on the fine line where I’ve got to keep enough acres to spread equipment over.”

Getting bigger and going longer is out—at least for Harrell. “Yeah, that’s how I used to think: Just go across more acres, make inputs cost less, and that’ll solve everything. Not anymore. What people come to see is that spreading too far in the Southeast means that nine times outta ten, you forfeit yield, because there’s no way to look after your crops like they need.”

Translated: Irrigation, weed control, repeated fungicide applications, labor logistics, and host of other management practices create a never-ending game of catch-up.

“There are Midwest farmers out there on big, big acres that do a fantastic job, but in the Southeast, we can’t get behind a single day on irrigation, or we lose yield,” Harrell notes. “Then factor in all the other aspects people don’t think about—like wildlife damage from deer and hogs, and countless spray trips across the field—and things get really complicated. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say a 15,000-acre operation in the Midwest compares to a 5,000-acre in the Southeast as far as demand on a farmer. That doesn’t mean anybody is better or worse, but it sure means things are very different.”

Walking Away
On Aug. 13, 2024, Alex Harrell fired the soybean shot heard round the farm world with a bin-busting 218.28 bushels per acre, shattering his own world record of 206.79 bushels set in 2023. Back to back, he grew the highest yielding soybeans in history.

“People don’t realize there was ground here in 2025 that didn’t get planted, but you can already see what’s developing for 2026. Guys are walking away.”

(Photo courtesy of Harrell Farms)

Harrell has a tight grasp on agronomics, crop management, and bottom-line financials. The extreme rub endured by growers over successive years is down to the bone, he warns.

“We can grow most any variety of crop in the world right here, but we’re at the point of seeing what happens when none of them will turn a profit due to the crazy input prices. We’ve now got guys with all their land and equity burned up, and we’re seeing Chapter 12 bankruptcies every day. Guys are quitting and walking away, and that eventually leads to land that doesn’t get picked up. That’s how terrible things have gotten, even if some people don’t see it yet. Cropland with no crop.”

For more from Chris Bennett (@ChrisBennettMS or cbennett@farmjournal.com or 662-592-1106), see:

Outraged Farmers Blame Ag Monopolies as Catastrophic Collapse Looms

Family Farm Wins Historic Case After Feds Violate Constitution and Ruin Business

County Shuts Down 15-Yr-Old’s Bait Stand on Family Farm, Threatens Daily Fines

Corn and Cocaine: Roger Reaves and the Most Incredible Farm Story Never Told

How the Deep State Tried, and Failed, to Crush an American Farmer

Game of Horns: Iowa Poacher’s Antler Addiction Leads to Historic Bust

Ghost Cattle: $650M Ponzi Rocks Livestock Industry, Money Still Missing

How Trump’s Bridge Payments Could Affect Farmland Prices

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 18:11:56 GMT

Farmers National Company president Paul Schadegg sees the recently announced $12 billion in bridge payments to farmers having a variety of effects on the ag economy.

“They think it’ll be a shot of adrenaline to the ag economy,” he says on “AgriTalk.” “There are some people who say they’ll use it to pay down debt or use for operating cash. Some need a new combine or tractor, and it might go toward that. And subsequently, it could add to the cash a buyer has in their pocket that they can deploy toward a land purchase, so it’s going to cover a broad spectrum.”

The bridge payment announcement coincides with the busiest time of year with higher volumes of land sales.

“It’s really active this time of year. We see a lot of land sales between October and March. We’re in the thick of it now,” Schadegg says. “The pipeline is full as we get into January and February for land sales.”

Steve Breuere from Peoples Company tells Paul Neiffer on the “Top Producer Podcast” about 40% of their land sales volume happens in the fourth quarter of the year.

Before the bridge payment announcement, Farmers National released their 2026 Farm Input Outlook. According to that report, input costs are projected to increase slightly compared to last year. Fertilizer prices are the biggest driver, most notably nitrogen. There will be modest increases in chemicals, financing costs, equipment and labor. Categories showing flat to small increases include seed, fuel and land.

Specific to cash rent, Schadegg calls out farmland in Colorado, western Nebraska and southwestern Kansas for illustrating elevated pressure on those rates because of increased input costs. However, more central areas of the country Iowa, the Dakotas and Minnesota aren’t as pressured.

Government Threatens Seizure of 85-yr-old’s Entire Farm for Irrigating Wrong Field

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 14:02:45 GMT

The government is preparing to take the private land and legacy of an 85-year-old farmer for the crime of irrigation. Why? He watered his crops without regulatory approval.

“I didn’t use a drop past my legal rights, but because I put it on the wrong field, I’m a criminal and the state wants to take everything I have,” Bob Greiff says. “It’s all about control. And power.”

In response to Greiff’s water “violations,” the Washington State Department of Ecology levied a series of fines totaling $121,000 and slapped a lien on his property. The department issued press releases championing its actions, and portrayed Greiff as an environmental outlaw. Notably, Ecology officials are not penalizing Greiff for the amount of water pumped, but rather, the location applied. Put it where we say, or else.

“This is the worst abuse of power by Ecology over a farmer I’ve seen in my career,” says water consultant Tim Reierson. “Why the state chose to issue massive fines instead of permits is unexplainable. And the more facts you know, the worse it gets. Ecology made it impossible for Bob to be legal and still survive on that farm. It’s cruel. I can back everything I say.”

Greiff insists the state’s measures are a “nightmare dream you don’t wake up from.”

“Why do they care what crops or acres I put my legally obtained water on?” he asks. “How did things ever get this crazy for farmers?”

Make or Break
On a bare-bones 160-acre (120 arable) farm outside Deer Park, in northeast Washington’s Spokane County, Bob Greiff rotates alfalfa, oats, hay, and barley. His fields are evenly split by a road—two 80-acre tracts to the south and north of the ribbon. Greiff rubs pennies to make dollars: His last tractor purchase was in 1992—for $70,000. “We traded a number of even older tractors just to get the price down to what we could afford,” he recalls.

Deploying conservative farming practices on relatively tiny acreage, Greiff’s operation is akin to a step back in time. Describing Greiff as old-school is an understatement.

In 1939, Greiff’s father, Willie, purchased an initial portion of the creek-side property and planted seed potatoes. A decade later, in 1949, Willie secured a water right and began irrigating.

“I had a set amount of water I was allowed to use, but they said I was in big trouble if I used it on any row except what they allowed,” Greiff explains.

(Photo by Ray Aguirre)

“My dad bought that first 80 by the creek and then bought another 80 across the road,” Greiff explains. “In about 1953, he ran a pipe under the road and started pumping to both fields because the second one had more cultivated land and was level.”

Willie watered on both sides of the road until his death in 1991. Greiff continued watering in the same manner. Potatoes were replaced by alfalfa and grain. Regardless of crop, Greiff’s soil produces limited yield without moisture. Each year, as his crops rotate on a given piece of dirt, he requires flexibility to add more water in some areas and less in others. The logistical dance is make or break: For example, Greiff typically grows one crop of alfalfa dryland and three irrigated, and he grows 50-bushel dryland wheat and 100-plus-bushel irrigated wheat.

Legally, Greiff holds three water rights totaling 136 acre-feet per year annual volume for irrigation on 37 acres north of the dividing road. “I’ve always pumped from our water rights and survived on this dirt since I was a boy,” Greiff exclaims. “Now they tell me they’ll kick me off my own land. For what? Because I irrigated the wrong acres without permission and owe them $121,000.”

“Sound crazy? It is. One day I’m pumping water just like I have for 70 years, and the next day I’m the target of people who know nothing about farming. Nothing.”

In 2019, Greiff’s mailbox clinked with a snail-mail message from the Washington State Department of Ecology. Mr. Greiff, you’re irrigating on the south side the road, but we don’t find a record of a water right for you to do that.

(Significantly, Ecology made recent headlines in 2023 after fining King Ranch in Grant and Douglas counties almost $268,000 for alleged wetlands destruction. Ecology referred King Ranch to the state attorney general for a criminal investigation. USDA is backing King Ranch.)

“It all started with a letter,” Greiff says, his voice trailing off in disbelief. “I had a set amount of water I was allowed to use, but they said I was in big trouble if I used it on any row except what they allowed.”

Gone to Hell
In July 2019, Greiff knocked on the front door of water consultant Tim Reierson’s home in Yakima, roughly three hours distant. Seated at Reierson’s dining room table, Greiff told his tale.

At the helm of Streamline Water Consulting, and highly esteemed in the irrigation industry, Reierson navigates both agriculture rows and the paperwork maze of water rights. Prior to private practice, he worked for seven years (1989-1996) at Ecology in the Water Rights Division. Translated: Reierson understands nuance on both sides of the table.

Reierson researched Greiff’s water rights and farm history.

“If they want to destroy a farmer because he put his water on unapproved acres, then I’m not gonna run and hide,” Greiff says.

(Photo by Ray Aguirre)

“The research showed Bob’s water rights don’t cover south of the road. Ecology doesn’t seem to register the significance of irrigating in plain sight for decades, but I found an explanation for it. In 1968, Bob filed to irrigate both north and south, and it was approved in 1975 . But when Ecology certified the right in 1983, they left out the south part, possibly in error.”

“I don’t think Bob read the certificate fine print,” Reierson continues. “He thought it was fixed and farmed it 50 years. Ecology has this false narrative they’ve spread around that he’s a bad actor. Bob Greiff actually wants to follow the rules. That’s why he contacted me.”

“People need to understand how important this farm is, and Bob’s legacy. It’s subsistence farming and water-efficient to keep pumping costs down. Classic rotation practices; hand labor moving wheel lines; and the orchestrated timing and movement of limited water. He’s a treasure and so is that farm.”

Reierson’s remedy was straightforward: Follow the rulebook and get Greiff legally clear to irrigate the south acreage. Once approved, Greiff could take his 136-acre feet and “spread” it to the south acreage. Same amount of water—but poured thinner across more acres.

According to Washington State law, a grower is required to adhere to a single irrigation program for two years before “spreading” is allowed. Greiff willingly jumped through the onerous regulatory hoop.

“I asked Bob to follow the statutory requirements exactly to qualify for increasing acres, all while still using the same amount of water,” Reierson details. “There’s a calculation called the ACQ, the annual consumptive quantity, based on proving your annual beneficial use. It averages the highest two years in the past five. All we needed was two years of water use on the 37 acres in the north, file the applications, provide all the supporting documentation and technical work, and get the approvals. This is what I do for a living.”

“Bob did what I asked in 2020 and 2021, irrigating an alfalfa stand in the north. Alfalfa hay has deep roots. It takes lots of water and then gives multiple cuttings. He even had bad luck with a pump going down that hurt his average. He was willing to give up some water rights to get approved quickly.”

“One thing for certain, this was sure as hell never about water or the environment for them (Ecology),” Greiff says.

(Photo by Ray Aguirre)

In 2022, with regulatory boxes ticked, Reierson presented all the paperwork to the Spokane County Water Conservancy Board and gained approval in August that year. Conservancy shipped their decisions to Ecology for a maximum 75-day review period. Under Washington State law , if Ecology does nothing, Conservancy approvals automatically become final.

After two years of yield losses on his south-of-the-road acreage to satisfy the state’s regulations, Greiff was on the cusp of gaining permission to spread water.

And then everything went to hell.

“Ecology intervened on day 58 and that’s when it got surreal,” Reierson says. “At first, they said the water rights couldn’t be overlapped, which is nonsense, but they also said Greiff wouldn’t be able to farm that many acres with the amount of rights he had. The power records on his irrigation pumps proved he did. To tell Greiff how he can and can’t farm is insulting—and embarrassing for Ecology.”

Bring Me a Rock
Conservancy had accepted Reierson’s irrigation plan on Aug. 22, 2022, opening a path for Greiff to irrigate on both sides of the road and spread the water onto all irrigated acres.

However, on Nov. 9, Conservancy called for a meeting with Ecology, recalls Kevin Freeman, then chair of Conservancy. “There’s not funding for us to hire our own private consultants to review those applications. We’re a volunteer board, so we rely on Ecology’s technical expertise related to the applications. Regarding Mr. Greiff, we had questions about the technical aspects of how water spreading was to occur between groundwater and surface rights. Turns out, Ecology didn’t agree with Mr. Greiff’s consultant’s (Reierson) interpretation of how the water was to be spread and if that was appropriate.”

“I’ve always tried to do things right on this farm and I never dreamed my own state would treat me or anyone else like this,” Greiff says.

(Photo by Ray Aguirre)

“We never approved the application,” says Freeman, a geologist and a hydrogeologist working mainly in lower Yakima Valley with long legs in private consulting—35 years of experience. “This was a technical disagreement at the state level between Ecology and Mr. Greiff and his consultant. It was apparent that that difference was strong enough that Ecology would reject the application. We felt it was better for Mr. Greiff to work directly with Ecology.”

Six days later, on Nov. 15, public records show Conservancy voted to withdraw its decisions, stating for each: “The board intends to revise and resubmit for Ecology review the record of decision and report of examination for the subject application.”

Reierson explained his consent, “I initially agreed to that step, for the board to withdraw its formal approvals from August 2022, based on the promise a compromise could be found with Ecology. Plus, we had no leverage, meaning no money or time to fight Ecology in court if they denied the board’s approvals. But when Ecology intervened, what followed was an exhausting game of ‘bring me a rock.’ ”

“That’s where clients without wealth would go broke,” Rierson adds, “but I’d stopped charging Bob by this time so it didn’t work.”

In early February 2023, Reierson completed a third technical report. He thought he had finally broken through. He had not. What happened next was fatal to Greiff’s compliance efforts.

“The 2023 irrigation season was approaching. On February 13, the Conservancy Board held a meeting without telling me,” Reierson notes. “They asked for technical support about ACQ from Ecology. Herman Spangle, the liaison to the board, and his supervisor Jaime Short attended. At the end of that meeting the board voted to drop the applications completely. I only know details because I did a public records request for their emails.”

“After that, the applications went to Ecology as last resort for approval. They could have approved them in April. Instead, Ecology sat on the applications and waited Bob out, then fined him in June. Then, as if it couldn’t get worse, Ecology rejected his applications based on his noncompliance, and kept adding fines. What the hell?”

“I even sent them an email four months before that final rejection, begging them to issue the permits, not fines. It was short. I remember it saying ‘Please...Be human. Be humane.’ And here we are.”

“Comply or Die”
Technical excuses are a dime a dozen, Greiff says. “It’s always the same story with the agencies and departments,” Greiff says. “They got a million reasons why I’ve done something wrong, but they don’t want to talk about the plain truth that I’m just trying to spread my water rights over my crops and that I’ve never stolen any water.”

Ecology personnel place blame for the permitting rejection on Greiff and Reierson.

“They sent us something and we reviewed it and got back to the Conservancy Board and said, ‘Hey, you don’t actually have the information you need to make this recommendation,” explains Jaime Short, Section Manager for Ecology’s Water Resource Program in the Eastern Regional Office. “Like, just the ingredients aren’t there.’”

“So, they decided, and this was all in consultation with Mr. Greiff’s consultant (Reierson), to withdraw their recommendation. He was going to get them some additional information. And then that did not occur,” Short adds. “So, eventually we kind of kicked the applications back to him because we didn’t have what we needed to process them.”

In response to Greiff’s water “violations,” Ecology levied a series of fines totaling $121,000 and placed a lien on his property.

(Photo by Ray Aguirre)

Brook Beeler, Eastern Regional Director of Ecology, echoes Short: “I think the crux of the issue here is when Mr. Greiff looked at his quantity or how much he’d been using, he wanted to put it in a different place than was identified in his right. And he started to work through that process with his Conservancy Board application. And then again, following up with us.”

And that’s where we told him, ‘We do not have enough information from you to be able to make that change for you to expand your acreage or to put this water that you claim you have on additional acreage.’ … He may have had enough to do what he was attempting to do, but he didn’t share that information with us in a way where we could make that approval. Instead of working with us, he chose to ignore us and continue to irrigate illegally.”

Reierson contradicts the claims made by Short and Beeler.

“The only ingredient missing was Ecology as a good faith partner. It was a continual process trying to answer endless objections. Not saying all their comments were wrong but on fundamentals it was baseless. Ecology management parroted staff instead of putting them in line on the nonsense. We didn’t have time for games but it was never enough, so then it all just tasted bad. And I felt sick knowing the original approvals were completely valid and I’d fallen for a trap going along with them being withdrawn.”

In many conservation quarters, Greiff’s desire to spread his water allotment over greater acres—yet still maintain yield—would be applauded.

“Not with Ecology for Mr. Greiff,” Reierson says. “They said different, but in reality they resisted Bob’s efforts to comply. Jaime Short told me Bob didn’t have enough water rights to cover the spreading acres. Another staffer said Bob’s crop rotation explanation was ‘weak’. It’s all in their emails.”

“Bob knew how to navigate farming, but not how to navigate the hurdles they set up. Even I couldn’t navigate them. In the end it about broke me to tell Bob, ‘I can’t help you anymore, I’ve tried everything. They’re flat out against you, or me, or both.’”

Following Ecology’s rejection, Greiff turned on the water. He began irrigating the south acres. “They left an old man no choice,” Greiff says. “I’d been without water for several years because of all this craziness. So, I started irrigating south of the road—right where they said it was illegal, but that’s where I make my money and that’s where I survive. And the whole time, I never used a drop more of water than I was supposed to. Didn’t matter. They wanted to cut my pocketbook in half, at first. Now, they want my farm. Their policy is, ‘Comply or die.’”

Bad Farmer
In response to his renewed irrigation, Greiff received a succession of letters from Ecology. Each time, he wrote “Return to Sender” and dropped the unopened envelopes back in the post.

“Hell, I even got letters from the Attorney General’s office in Olympia and sent those back, too. I didn’t know what kind of threats were in them, and I didn’t care. I wasn’t stealing any water. I wasn’t looking for trouble. I just wanted to be left alone to run a farm like my father and grandfather did.”

Freeman acknowledges that no theft of water theft by Greiff was alleged. “I feel Mr. Greiff’s pain because a number of my clients in the lower Yakima Valley are dairy farmers. And the small guys are just getting roasted. And I get that Mr. Greiff is a small farmer. We never thought this was about him pulling more than his legal amount of water—just that he’s not spreading it right. This should never have developed the way it did.”

Ecology issued a cease-and-desist order in June 2023, followed by a $6,000 fine in June 2024; and a $15,000 fine in August 2024, along with a press release regarding Greiff’s irrigation, telling the public: “attempts to help Greiff comply with regulations were unsuccessful … Additional unpermitted irrigation continued.”

A year later, in September 2025, Ecology levied a $100,000 fine, along with a judgement lien obtained by the Attorney General’s Office in Spokane County Superior Court. Again, Ecology issued a press release : “For years, we’ve seen repeated violations and a disregard for bringing this property into compliance … We’ve made multiple attempts to provide technical assistance and achieve voluntary compliance, yet illegal use continues.”

However, neither of the two press releases noted that Greiff was not exceeding his water rights or stealing water. A neutral observer, lacking context, might assume Greiff was an environmental criminal. The releases also did not explain that Greiff hired professional help to comply with the law. Additionally, the releases made no mention of Ecology’s involvement with Conservancy to block approvals for Greiff.

“These public portrayals of Bob Greiff as a bad actor and bad farmer are false,” Reierson says. “I guided him through all the statutory requirements for receiving the approvals, and he did everything required. The only bad actor in this situation is the Department of Ecology. They influenced the Water Conservancy Board to help defeat Bob’s plan for compliance with the law.”

Here I Will Be
As Greiff faces the prospect of farm and legacy loss, a solution is maddeningly just out of reach. All Greiff needs to legally spread his water onto his farmland on the south side of the road is a paperwork change from Ecology. Otherwise, his water rights can only be poured onto the north side of the road.

“I wasn’t looking for trouble,” Greiff says. “I just wanted to be left alone to run a farm like my father and grandfather did.”

(Photo by Ray Aguirre)

Absurd, Greiff insists. “I can’t thank Tim Reierson enough, but no matter what he did to help me and go by the book, the Department of Ecology dragged their feet. One thing for certain, this was sure as hell never about water or the environment for them. Think about it: I’m still allowed to use the exact same amount of water.”

Freeman believes Conservancy made the right call. However, his confidence doesn’t extend beyond: “I don’t know what the mechanisms were regarding what happened after we were done with our review. Is Ecology making an example out of him? I felt like if everyone could sit down in a room together, this would have gotten done, but I don’t know what happened, or how it’s gotten to this extreme point. Ecology would say they’re not being heavy-handed, but it now certainly appears that way to many people.”

“I think there are things Ecology could have done differently and things Mr. Greiff and his consultant could have done differently,” Freeman adds. “But for a situation that is supposed to only be about how Mr. Greiff is applying water to his fields to end up with a lien and potential seizure—that’s extremely surprising, and I won’t lay the blame at Mr. Greiff’s feet.”

The present impasse should never have developed, Reierson concurs. “Without Ecology’s interference, Bob’s first approval back in 2022 would have become final and he would have been irrigating just fine in 2023, 2024, and 2025—with no fines.”

“As far as correcting this it’s an easy solution because all the work’s been done. Ecology has the administrative power unilaterally, right now, to rescind its orders and fines, vacate the lien, reinstate and approve the applications. Done. It’s a safe bet they won’t do it on their own, so we’ll need a state legislator to take up the cause. Bob would welcome an independent review. Then, I think Ecology, higher up the ladder, might see the light.”

When the 2026 crop season arrives, Greiff intends to irrigate—on both sides of the road.

“We’ve been here since 1939. Come spring next year, just as my father and grandfather did, I’m going to plant like normal. And when May comes, I’m going to turn the sprinklers on again to survive wherever my crops need the water. I’ve always tried to do things right on this farm and I never dreamed my own state would treat me or anyone else like this.”

“I didn’t use a drop past my legal rights, but because I put it on the wrong field, I’m a criminal and the state wants to take everything I have,” says Greiff.

(Photo by Ray Aguirre)

“I don’t believe the people in these departments know what irrigation, yield, crops, or rotation are,” Greiff insists. “It’s a big secret that no one is supposed to say: They don’t understand what farming is.”

Will Ecology shut down Greiff’s operation? “We can’t certainly speak for, you know, what lies ahead for him and how he continues to operate his farm or as a producer,” says Director Beeler. “I will say if he continues to illegally irrigate those acres, I think we have to, we have to look at what tools do we have left in our toolbox to again ensure compliance.”

“The state wants people to think I’m an outlaw,” Greiff concludes. “They don’t want people to know the true story. If they want to destroy a farmer because he put his water on unapproved acres, then I’m not gonna run and hide. Here I am. Here I will be.”

For further resources on the interaction between Washington State and Bob Greiff, see Tim Reierson’s timeline and document resource .

For more articles from Chris Bennett (@ChrisBennettMS or cbennett@farmjournal.com or 662-592-1106), see:

Family Farm Wins Historic Case After Feds Violate Constitution and Ruin Business

County Shuts Down 15-Yr-Old’s Bait Stand on Family Farm, Threatens Daily Fines

Corn and Cocaine: Roger Reaves and the Most Incredible Farm Story Never Told

How the Deep State Tried, and Failed, to Crush an American Farmer

Game of Horns: Iowa Poacher’s Antler Addiction Leads to Historic Bust

Ghost Cattle: $650M Ponzi Rocks Livestock Industry, Money Still Missing

Farmer Unearths Lost Treasure, Solves WW2 Mystery

Record-Breaking Sale: Iowa Farmland Sets New High for State at $32,000 Per Acre

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 05:22:18 GMT

An Iowa farmland auction in Sioux County, just outside Orange City, is resetting the top of the market. A 35.5-acre tract sold on Dec. 1 for $32,000 per acre, and Jim Rothermich of Iowa Appraisal says it’s the highest auction price he has recorded in the state.

“It is a 35-and-a-half-acre tract that goes for $32,000 an acre,” Rothermich says. “As far as my data goes, I keep track of all the land auctions in Iowa, that’s the highest. It set a new record yesterday in Iowa.”

He says the previous record was $30,000 per acre, also in Sioux County, set in November 2022, and he’s quick to point out that while Sioux County regularly posts some of Iowa’s biggest numbers, this one still stands apart.

“ The last record is $30,000 an acre , and that is in Sioux County also back in Nov. 11, 2022,” Rothermich says. “So it’s not unusual to see those huge prices in Sioux County. It’s a heavy livestock and dairy county. They need those acres to apply animal waste, and they need the corn production to feed those animals. So it’s not unusual to see that, but that is definitely a high price — no doubt about it.”

A Farmer Bought the Land, Not an Investor

At a time when producers are watching margins and questioning who is really driving top-end land prices, Rothermich says this record isn’t attributed to a Wall Street fund or an out-of-state investor. According to the auctioneer, the winning bidder is a farmer, and the land is positioned to fit directly into an existing local operation.

“According to the auctioneer, it is a farmer buyer,” Rothermich says. “And the highest and best use of this farm is to raise corn and soybeans. I understand it is an adjoining landowner, and there again, it’s a heavy livestock area and dairy area. There’s some large dairies just right around there, and they’re going to use that land.”

No Comment......SOLD! SOLD! SOLD! $1.13+ million or $32,000/acre; purchased by local farmer to produce corn/soybeans. pic.twitter.com/hMeCFJjvjx
— Jim Rothermich, MAI, ARA, ALC (@theLandTalker) December 1, 2025

That adjoining landowner angle matters in competitive auctions, where neighbor value — operational fit, access and scale — can turn into aggressive bidding when a tract comes up for sale.

According to a local source, that dynamic played out in this sale and helped drive the final price higher. The source told Farm Journal the winning bidder operates a large Holstein dairy heifer replacement business, and the tract for sale was located near their existing operation. But competition for the land, and the reason the price went so high, is there was a bidding war with another farmer whose property borders the 35.5-acre parcel, pushing the price well above expectations.

Investor Pressure is Still Real, Amplifying the Top End of Farmland Prices

Rothermich says he can’t say for certain whether investor bids help push the Dec. 1 price to a record. But across Iowa, he says auctioneers describe a consistent trend: Investors, often with local ties, are showing up and competing hard, sometimes forcing farmers to dig deeper for high-quality acres.

“I don’t know if that is the case [in this auction],” he says. “But just visiting with different auctioneers across the state, they’re telling me these investors with local ties, they’re in the market, and they’re pushing these farmers to buy land. Some of those investors are getting them bought, but those local farmers on high-quality land are competing with those guys, and it’s making a difference on high quality.”

In other words, even when a farmer has the winning bid, the bidding atmosphere can still be shaped by investor presence particularly on ground that fits the region’s strongest operations.

Not many $30,000+ sales, but Plenty of Big Numbers in Iowa and Surrounding States

Rothermich says he doesn’t see other Iowa auction results above $30,000 per acre so far this year, but he does track multiple sales above $20,000, including county records.

“I haven’t seen anything over $30,000 this year,” he says. “Now we have several over $20,000 an acre. As a matter of fact, in Mitchell County on Sept. 10 of this year, there is a short 80-acre tract that brings $24,400 an acre, and that is a new price record for that county.”

And Iowa isn’t alone. Rothermich says he’s collecting late-year auction results around the region that show strength continuing across multiple Corn Belt states.

“It’s not just Iowa; we’re seeing these strong prices,” he says. “South Dakota has one farm sell for $18,200 an acre. One in Illinois is $20,150 an acre; I’ve seen several over $20,000 in Illinois. Missouri: $20,000 an acre. Minnesota: a couple tracts bring $17,000 an acre. So it’s not just an Iowa thing; it’s around the surrounding states of Iowa.”

Tight Margins, Strong Land Values Comes as a Surprise

Even with improved commodity prices compared to last year, many producers still describe the current environment as belt-tightening territory: Inputs remain high, and margins are pressured.

That’s why Rothermich says the late-year auction strength, especially the steady stream of standout sales, is catching his attention.

“It does surprise me,” he says. “I am very surprised at the volume. November is typically our busiest month for land auctions, and I’ve been surprised every week in the month of November — some of the strong prices coming out.”

Key Divergence Between High Quality and Lower Quality Farmland

Rothermich says there’s no clearer evidence of a two-speed land market than what’s happening on the lower-quality end, where more auctions are failing to meet seller expectations.

He says he tallies 10 no-sales in Iowa in November, which he calls a high number for the month that typically dominates the auction calendar.

“One area where we are seeing some weakness is the lower quality farms,” he says. “Those are being affected; there’s no doubt about that. And as I say, I keep track of all the land auctions in Iowa; there are 10 no-sales in November. That’s a high number for no sales in a month. So there’s no doubt lower quality farms are being affected.”

When asked directly whether the Dec. 1 record sale signals a widening gap between premium and marginal ground, Rothermich says absolutely.

“The people that have the money to buy that high-quality ground, they’re going after it. There’s no doubt about it,” he adds.

And when it comes to why lower quality farms are more likely to stall at auction, he says the buyer pool changes, especially the presence (or absence) of investors.

“They’re on those lower quality farms,” he says. “You don’t have those local investors competing with the local farmers on that. So those local farmers are kind of driving that market on that, and they’re definitely pulling back. There’s no doubt about it.”

He ties that pullback directly to economic pressure with the weaker performance in some land values a sign of current economic stress.

What to Watch Over the Next Six Months

Rothermich describes today’s auction environment as a market with two tails: a premium segment with strong competition and a lower-quality segment facing resistance. That split makes the overall market feel uneven, even when the headlines are bullish.

“It’s kind of got two tails right now,” he says. “The high quality is selling very good, and the low quality is being affected by the current economy. So it’s kind of a choppy market. That’s how I’d describe it right now.”

Still, he says two fundamentals support stability over the next six months: lower auction volume, which tends to firm prices, and grain prices higher than last year.

“Looking at the number of auctions for November, December, we’re going to be down for the year,” he says. “And that’s been a three-year trend. Lower auction volume is supportive to prices. So as I look at current grain prices, we’re higher than we were last year. So with those two fundamentals, it’s signaling we’re probably going to have a stable market the next six months.”

He adds that good yields, though not necessarily record yield, also help underpin buyer confidence in the near term.

“The lower volume of sales, good harvest … yields are good but not as good as last year,” he says. “Grain prices are higher than they were last year, and we still have buyers out there wanting to get their hands on some high-quality farm ground.”

The $32,000-per-acre Sioux County auction isn’t just a number; it’s a marker of how aggressively buyers are pursuing top-end Iowa farmland, particularly in regions where acres fit into livestock- and dairy-driven demand. The fact Rothermich says the buyer is a farmer adjoining the tract reinforces that operational value is still a powerful force.

At the same time, the record sale lands in a market that’s increasingly divided: Premium farms draw competition while lower-quality farms see more no-sales, signaling that economic pressure is shaping buyer behavior — just not evenly across all acres.

Family Farm Saved From Eminent Domain After Capturing Nationwide Attention

Mon, 27 Oct 2025 20:10:29 GMT

Andy Henry beat eminent domain. His 21-acre, 175-year-old farm will no longer be targeted for government housing.

Henry’s fight to save his livestock operation from development caught the nation’s eye, followed by the attention of USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, and interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba.

An agreement is set to permanently protect the Henry family farm. Concrete will not replace grass.

Refusal to Roll
For decades, Henry declined $25 million development offers for Highland Ranch, his 21-acre farm in Middlesex County, N.J.

However, in April 2025, the Cranbury Township Committee tagged the entire Henry property as the ideal location for an affordable housing apartment complex of 130 units. Henry, a 20-year Air Force veteran, refused to sell, even though his land was designated by the Cranbury Township Committee for replacement with apartment buildings.

He hired attorney Timothy Duggan and held tight to his farm. “The public is disturbed by the government’s actions in this case,” Duggan told Agweb. “The details are so over the top to average people that they think they’re watching a Saturday Night Live skit.”

After decades of development, Henry’s 21 acres are the last farm standing on South River Road.

(Photo by Google)

In July, Henry filed a lawsuit challenging the township’s ordinance allowing seizure by eminent domain. He followed in August with a separate challenge to the affordable housing plan.

The Cranbury Township Committee then narrowed its acquisition of Henry’s land by targeting half the farm for concrete, leaving him with 9 acres and a farmhouse. Again, Henry declined.

Henry’s refusal to roll drew admiration from multiple government figures. As political pressure mounted, the Cranbury Township Committee changed course.

Henry won. On Oct. 24, 2025, Agriculture Secretary Rollins posted an announcement on X: After months of bipartisan, federal-state collaboration, the state of New Jersey has secured an agreement that would spare the 175-year-old Henry family farm from the state’s affordable housing plan. Further efforts are also underway by USDA and the New Jersey Department of Agriculture to protect this prime farmland in perpetuity.

N.J. Gov. Murphy followed with a statement : “From the very beginning, I have opposed efforts to seize the Henry Family Farm through eminent domain. While every town in New Jersey must do its part to resolve our state’s affordable housing crisis, these efforts must be pursued thoughtfully and collaboratively,”

Henry’s farmland was technically saved via a change in the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency rules. (To read the legislation/agreement, see here .)

“My family sacrificed on this land for 175 years,” Henry told Agweb in June 2025, as the legal saga began unfolding. “All the other farms disappeared. We did not. We will not.”

Sincerely. A legacy saved.

Peoples Company Boosts Farmland Holdings with Strategic Acquisition of Murray Wise Associates

Thu, 23 Oct 2025 15:58:06 GMT

Peoples Company continues a series of acquisitions to expand its land brokerage, appraisal, farm management, and capital markets services. Today, the company announced its latest acquisition: Murray Wise Associates, LLC, which is scheduled to close on Nov. 15, 2025. In recent years, Peoples Company acquired two other Illinois-based firms, Land Pro LLC and The Atkins Group.

“Murray Wise Associates has long been recognized as a trusted name in farmland auctions and brokerage,” Steve Bruere, President of Peoples Company said in the company’s announcement. “This acquisition not only strengthens our presence in key agricultural markets but also reflects a broader shift in the industry toward leveraging specialized farm management expertise. We’re excited to welcome the Murray Wise team and to continue delivering exceptional value to landowners and investors.”

Founded by Murray Wise 25 years ago, Murray Wise Associates has completed more than $5 billion in value of land and agribusiness transactions across 20 states. Its nine team members will transition to the Peoples Company team. In November 2021, Farmland Partners acquires Murray Wise Associates.

“Joining forces with Peoples Company creates tremendous opportunities for our clients and team,” Eric Sarff, President of Murray Wise Associates and whose new title will be Peoples Company vice president, said in the company’s announcement. “Peoples Company’s national reach and comprehensive service platform will allow us to deliver even greater value while continuing to provide the personalized service our clients expect.”

The company leaders say this acquisition highlights the trend of partnering institutional and asset management firms with specialized farm management companies. The projected goal is to provide operational efficiency and enhance returns.

“MWA has a talented team that has partnered closely with farmers and clients across the country to grow FPI’s management portfolio over the past four years,” said Farmland Partners President and CEO Luca Fabbri. “I’m thrilled that they will be able to continue their growth under the Peoples Company umbrella. Peoples is a leading farm management firm with a cutting-edge proprietary technology platform, and we look forward to working closely with them in the future.”

Feds Target Family Over Wetlands Regulations, Ignore Supreme Court Ruling?

Tue, 21 Oct 2025 16:17:45 GMT

What happens when a family’s landlocked agriculture property is deemed a wetland and the feds disregard a historic Supreme Court ruling? U.S. landowners and farmers move two steps forward and three steps back.

In May 2025, the Army Corps of Engineers tagged 1.13 acres belonging to Caleb and Rebecca Linck of Bonner County, Idaho, as a wetland, essentially dropping Clean Water Act (CWA) authority over their entire property. Significantly, the Linck’s ground is hundreds of feet from the nearest stream and 2 miles from the nearest lake. Close enough, according to federal officials.

Astoundingly, the Lincks live in the precise county where another family won a landmark CWA Supreme Court ruling in 2023, Sackett v. EPA, essentially protecting landowners from agency overregulation.

The Lincks, represented by Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), are preparing for a legal fight. “It’s an outrage,” says PLF attorney Charles Yates. “After Sackett, the agencies went back to the drawing board. They simply won’t accept that the highest court in the land definitively told them they could not keep doing what they were doing. And it’s happening again in other cases, right now, to people all over the country.”

“This is part of a deliberate strategy on the part of these agencies to continue regulating as if Sackett didn’t happen,” Yates adds.

Even when government shrinks, it expands. Welcome to the Linck’s alarming case.

Leapfrog
In the northernmost reaches of Idaho, Caleb and Rebecca Linck own a 4.7-acre parcel inherited from family. Their hope? Live on the land and turn the spot to agriculture production in the future.

Prior to any disturbance or broken ground, the couple hired a wetlands consultant to ensure CWA adherence. The move backfired. On May 14, 2025, the Corps claimed authority over 1.13 acres of their ground—a purported federal wetland. Two months later, the Lincks, represented by PLF, filed an appeal.

The Linck’s acre of “wetlands” is hundreds of feet away from the nearest water—a stream. Their acre, zoned agriculture, is bordered by an elevated 35’-wide gravel road with no culverts. There are no land features within the acre that qualify for agency regulation. How is the Linck’s dry ground a wetland, according to the Corps?

(When contacted by Agweb.com regarding the Linck case, Corps representatives declined comment.)

A leapfrog association, claims the agency. Across the road from the Linck’s property is a farm pasture containing a swale depression. The pasture touches a stream that connects to a creek that spills into a navigable waterway. Thereby, the Linck acre is a connect-the-dots wetland in the eyes of government.

The Sackett case, arguably a mirror of the Linck case, still shocks many Americans.

(Photo by Chris Bennett)

“The Corps uses what they call a ‘wetlands complex theory,’” describes Yates. “They’re aggregating a whole bunch of wetlands in one area, and calling them one giant wetland, even if they’re separated by roads or berms or other structures.”

Subsurface connections. Groundwater hydrology. All water flows downhill. Catchall.

“By the Corps’ logic, because one little bit of the wetlands complex touches or abuts a covered water, then the whole thing can be regulated,” Yates continues. “That’s illegal for obvious reasons and it flatly violates the Sackett test.”

The Sackett case, arguably a mirror of the Linck case, still shocks many Americans.

Dozens of Cases
In Bonner County—the exact locale of the Linck’s property—the Sackett family attempted to build a subdivision home roughly a third- to half-mile distant from Priest Lake. Several previously constructed homes (and a road) stood between the Sackett property and the lake.

EPA designated the Sackett lot a wetland and issued a cease-and-desist construction order, threatening the couple with fines upward of $40,000 per day. Represented by PLF , the Sacketts fought back in court.

In May 2023, the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) issued a seismic 9-0 decision in favor of the Sacketts. In a major rebuke to EPA and the Corps, SCOTUS noted that wetlands designations should be obvious to the public, i.e., common sense should be in play. In a nutshell, SCOTUS said CWA regulations only apply to wetlands with a continuous surface water connection to navigable waters.

Justice Samuel Alito was specific: “the CWA’s use of ‘waters’ encompasses only those relatively permanent, standing or continuously flowing bodies of water forming geographical features that are described in ordinary parlance as streams, oceans, rivers, and lakes.”

Following the 2023 SCOTUS ruling, have regulatory agencies operated by the newly minted CWA enforcement restrictions?

Ask Iowa landowner Dan Ward. “No. They broke it immediately,” Ward said in 2024. “They ignored it and carried on, right on my property.”

“We’ve reached a place where our own officials believe they can disregard Supreme Court law,” Ward contends. “What the government is doing on my land is 100% about keeping power.”

(Photo courtesy of Dan Ward)

Ward was blocked by the Corps from building a pond on his 420-acre farm property because agency officials considered a dry depression that runs half-a-mile across his land, over 100 miles from the nearest navigable river, to be “waters of the United States.”

How many nationwide CWA cases are ongoing related to jurisdictional determinations, enforcement actions, compliance orders, or negotiations where regulatory agencies are pressing authority beyond Sackett?

“Widespread,” Yates emphasizes. “This is not just happening in Idaho or California. This is in North Carolina. This is in Iowa. This is in every corner of the country and I’m speaking about dozens of cases that I’m personally aware of.”

No Accident, No Oversight
Wash, rinse, repeat, contends Yates, who was a member of the PLF litigation team that argued the Sackett case at the Supreme Court. “The Lincks are falling victim to the exact same agency actions taken against the Sacketts. After the Sackett decision, the agencies wouldn’t accept that the highest court in the land definitively told them they could not keep doing what they were doing. Now it’s back to business as usual to assert authority to the maximum extent possible.”

The Linck’s landlocked farm property—is not so landlocked, per agency assertion.

“The Linck case is an egregious example of an agency blatantly disregarding the Supreme Court,” Yates concludes. “This is not an accident. This is not bureaucratic oversight. This is, I believe, part of a deliberate strategy on the part of these agencies to continue regulating as if Sackett didn’t happen. These agencies are holding tight to power.”

For more from Chris Bennett (@ChrisBennettMS or cbennett@farmjournal.com or 662-592-1106), see:

Outraged Farmers Blame Ag Monopolies as Catastrophic Collapse Looms

Family Farm Wins Historic Case After Feds Violate Constitution and Ruin Business

County Shuts Down 15-Yr-Old’s Bait Stand on Family Farm, Threatens Daily Fines

Corn and Cocaine: Roger Reaves and the Most Incredible Farm Story Never Told

How the Deep State Tried, and Failed, to Crush an American Farmer

Game of Horns: Iowa Poacher’s Antler Addiction Leads to Historic Bust

Ghost Cattle: $650M Ponzi Rocks Livestock Industry, Money Still Missing

Farmer Unearths Lost Treasure, Solves WW2 Mystery

With More Eye-Popping Sales, The Surprising Strength in Iowa Farmland Values

Tue, 14 Oct 2025 18:43:06 GMT

In a year marked by plunging grain prices and rising financial pressure, you might have expected Iowa’s farmland market to finally crack. But a closer look at recent sales data shows a market that remains remarkably resilient — and, in some cases, still setting records.

Jim Rothermich, vice president at Iowa Appraisal , shares his perspective on the surprising stability of Iowa land values, what’s driving demand and where some stress fractures may be starting to show.

2024 in Review: Rising, But Slowing

Even though commodity prices have been cut in half in just a few years, the farmland market has proven to show extreme resilience. According to USDA’s “Land Values 2024 Summary,” the average U.S. farm real estate value (which includes land and buildings) rose to $4,170 per acre, up 5% over 2023. Cropland values averaged $5,570 per acre, a 4.7% increase from the prior year.

These increases in values continued a multi-year stretch of rising land values, even though the pace of growth has clearly moderated. Still, considering the sharp drop in commodity prices, it would make sense for land values to also see pressure. But when you look at it as a whole — especially quality cropland — values are holding strong.

Tight Supply Keeps the Market Firm

One key factor is supporting land values: there simply isn’t much land for sale.

“As you can see, the number of acres going to auction has been trending lower the past four years — same for listings,” Rothermich says. “Most of the volume is from estate sales. There may be a couple of auctions from financial stress but not enough to influence volume. Lack of volume is supportive to market conditions.With fewer tracts hitting the market, buyers have fewer opportunities — keeping competition intense and prices supported.”

Farmers Still in the Driver’s Seat

Despite investors showing up at auctions, local farmers continue to dominate bidding wars. Just this month, a piece of farmland in Black Hawk County sold for $20,238 per acre.

Black Hawk County rings the bell this week with a $20,238/acre sale (including 5% buyer fee). It’s amazing how fast harvest happens with good weather – crops are disappearing fast! https://t.co/q90dgZFPjQ #IowaLandAuctionPrices pic.twitter.com/bNFPfL6cvo
— Jim Rothermich, MAI, ARA, ALC (@theLandTalker) October 13, 2025

That’s in addition to the notable sales last month. Rothermich says September saw several eye-popping sales across the state, including:

Mitchell County (north central Iowa): 80 acres sold for $24,400/acre — a new county record — after two local farmers battled for the tract.
Dallas County: 140 acres went for $20,100/acre.
Cedar County: 160 acres sold at $19,000/acre.
Osceola County: 70 acres fetched $18,400/acre.
Cherokee County: 160 acres brought $17,000/acre, purchased by a local farmer.

“Investors are still attending auctions but are being out competed by locals,” Rothermich explains. “No sales are not an issue currently. Where I do see price drop off is for low quality land. Investors don’t want low quality. If locals are the only bidders, they are discounting farms with issues.”

“Investors are still attending auctions but are being out competed by locals.”

Jim Rothermich, The Land Talker

Rothermich himself recently bought two “wet” farms, planning to enroll them in CRP for a 4% cash return — a sign strategic buying opportunities exist even in a tight market.

Rents Steady, But Financial Stress Emerging

Cash rents, according to Rothermich’s data, have held steady from last year. But beneath the surface, financial pressure is building.

“Financial issues are surfacing. I have had an uptick for appraisals with high-risk lenders on sizable operations. I have not had to do those appraisals since pre-COVID,” he notes.

He’s also hearing more chatter about sale-leasebacks, where financially stressed farmers sell land to investors but lease it back to keep operating — a trend not seen since before the pandemic. Still, a unique factor continues to underpin stability: 84% of Iowa farmland has no debt.

“It is under-capitalized,” Rothermich says. “Most people think Iowa will have a good crop despite a lot of disease pressure. [There are] still strong balance sheets in rural Iowa. The farmers who rent most of their land are really being affected by current economics. Working capital is shrinking.”

Echoes of the 1980s — But Not a Repeat

Some have drawn comparisons to the 1980s farm crisis. In the September Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor, 91% of ag economists said the row crop side of agriculture is currently in a recession. Of the economists who said ag currently isn’t in a recession, the major reason was simple: strong land values.

“The U.S. crop sector is losing working capital, but cropland values are showing little weakness, either in terms of rents paid or cropland prices. Until the latter two start to weaken, the sector is not in a recession,” said one economist in the anonymous survey.

While Rothermich acknowledges signs of stress, he says the market backdrop is fundamentally different.

“My auction data suggests Iowa land market conditions are down around 8% from the peak in 2022. Grain prices are down almost 50%. [It’s] remarkable the market has not been affected anymore than that,” he says.

Unlike the 1980s, widespread over-leveraging isn’t a problem.

“So far, I am not seeing anything like the ‘80s was and have no concern due to the equity positions that have been built since then,” he says.

“My auction data suggests Iowa land market conditions are down around 8% from the peak in 2022. Grain prices are down almost 50%. Remarkable the market has not been affected anymore than that.”

Jim Rothermich, The Land Talker

The one trend that does give him pause? Retirement auctions.

“It seems a lot of people are exiting the business — much like happened in the 1980s,” he observes.

The Bottom Line

Despite economic headwinds, Iowa’s land market has shown remarkable resilience. Tight supply, strong farmer demand and minimal debt are keeping prices elevated — even as grain markets falter.

But the rise in retirement sales and early signs of financial stress suggest the landscape could shift in the months ahead. For now, though, the surprise story in Iowa land is not decline — but durable strength.

High Interest Rates Could Reshape Agriculture’s Future

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 18:26:32 GMT

“Yeah, you can buy dirt...
And thank the good Lord for it...
‘Cause he ain’t makin’ any more of it.”

The lyrics above are from the 2021 hit country song “Buy Dirt,” which voices a mantra that lives within every farmer, because those who farm view land as more than a commodity; it’s their livelihood and legacy.

Those generational legacies are at the greatest risk of extinction since the 1980s farm crisis. Persistently high interest rates are a key reason.

We’re in an agricultural downturn that owes its roots to many reasons: low commodity prices, high input prices, tariffs, trade disputes, etc. Interest rates happen to be one of many reasons contributing to this latest economic funk.

However, if a 1980s-type agricultural land crisis emerges from this downturn, many will point to the Federal Reserve as their favorite scapegoat. That’s because in its zeal to combat inflation at all costs, the Fed might have just cost many the chance to grow the farm, and in some cases even keep the farm.

The Math That Doesn’t Lie

An Iowa corn farmer pencils out a purchase on quality farmland priced at $11,467 per acre (2024 Iowa State University Land Value Survey). With current financing at 7.6% interest (Federal Reserve agricultural lending rates), the annual debt service alone costs $777 per acre on a 30-year loan with 20% down.

The same acre generates roughly $814 in gross revenue from corn at USDA’s projected 2025/26 price ($3.90 per bushel at 209 bu. per acre average Iowa yield, USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates, August 2025). Here’s the devastating math: total production costs, excluding land costs, reach $595 per acre (Iowa State University 2025 crop production cost estimates).

Renting identical land for $271 per acre results in a $52 annual loss per acre. Land ownership amplifies this to a $558 annual loss per acre, a financial wall that makes farmland purchase economically destructive.

To break even on rental operations, corn prices would need to reach $4.14 per bushel — 6% above USDA’s projection. For land ownership to pencil out, corn would need to hit $6.56 per bushel — 68% above the projected price.

Disproportionate Burden

While rising interest rates have impacted the broader economy, no sector has been hit harder than agriculture, particularly farmers attempting to build equity through land ownership. American agricultural producers paid $33.85 billion in total interest in 2023 (USDA Economic Research Service), representing 7.4% of total expenses and making interest the third-largest farm expense category.

The comparison to housing reveals ag’s unique vulnerability. Both sectors experienced similar interest rate increases — from roughly 3% up to 6% to 8% — but with different outcomes. In housing, higher mortgage payments remain manageable for qualified buyers. In agriculture, land purchases now generate negative cash flows that make ownership financially impossible for most operators.

Why the stark difference? Agricultural land purchases are purely investment-driven, requiring positive returns to justify the expense. Unlike housing, which provides utility regardless of financial performance, farmland must cash flow or it becomes economically irrational to own.

Numbers Tell a Bleak Story

Over the past five years, interest expenses have become the fastest-growing farm expense, increasing 19.1% in 2023 and 33.2% in 2022 (USDA Economic Research Service). For the first time since 2001, interest costs on new farmland loans have surpassed the recent average annual appreciation in land values, a fundamental shift in farmland economics.

With corn supplies projected at a record 16.7 billion bushels and continued oversupply expected, the commodity price recovery needed remains years away. Total farm sector debt is forecast to reach $561.8 billion in 2025 (USDA ERS, February 2025), yet the income to service this debt continues shrinking. USDA’s brutal assessment: Ag economists report that 56% think U.S. agriculture is in recession (Farm Journal’s Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor).

This economic reality is triggering a fundamental shift in American agriculture’s structure. Land ownership is rapidly giving way to rental arrangements. While specific projections for rental acre increases vary, the trend is clear: The rental market will start expanding significantly.

Though Iowa cash rental rates decreased 2.9% in 2025 to $271 per acre, the first decline since 2019 (Iowa State University), many
farming operations struggle to generate profits. Many analysts suggest this dip is temporary, as rental rates and land prices will have to find some equilibrium.

A New Investment Priority

Amid this crisis, one investment category offers opportunity: production efficiency technology. Well-implemented efficiency investments can deliver 15% to 30% profitability improvements with manageable risk and measurable benefits. Producers must adopt these ROI technologies soon to distinguish themselves as best-of-breed operators.

The same cash or equity down payment used for land purchase could drive efficiencies across all acres currently owned and rented. Critical areas include precision fertilizer systems, GPS guidance systems, variable rate technology and comprehensive precision agriculture systems that can achieve up to double-digit ROI on large-scale operations in optimal conditions.

Maximizing efficiency gains can mean survival in the downturn, but they cannot overcome the economics of $11,467-per-acre land with USDA’s projected $3.90 corn.

What Comes Next

The path forward requires recognizing this as a structural transformation. Land prices need 30% to 40% declines, corn prices need recovery above $5.50 per bushel, or interest rates need to drop to 4% to 5% to restore purchase viability. None appear imminent.

Over 50% of U.S. cropland is rented (2022 Census of Agriculture); that is expected to grow. Only the strongest operators will remain as landowners, while others transition to tenant farming with reduced equity-building opportunities.

This turnover in land ownership will mainly occur via generational transfers — from farming families to heirs who may no longer be bound to the land’s legacy. These inheritance-driven transitions will fundamentally reshape rural America’s ownership patterns, often favoring rental arrangements over continued family farming operations.

For farmers, immediate priorities include maximizing operational efficiency through technology, securing flexible rental agreements and building cash reserves for the inevitable land price correction. The bigger question is: Can policymakers, lenders and farmers navigate this transition while maintaining productive capacity and preserving rural communities?

It’s time to get to work, as the math doesn’t lie, and this transformation has begun.

Author’s Note: As of this article’s writing, the Fed had not held its September meeting. In August, it indicated that a .025% rate cut might be forthcoming; rates would still be 2.5 percentage points higher (161%) than before the pandemic.

Steve Cubbage is a precision ag consultant and farmer from Nevada, Mo. He is the founder of Longitude 94, an agriculture sustainability and technology consulting business.

New Data Supports Stable Farmland Market

Thu, 11 Sep 2025 19:30:31 GMT

Year over year, Iowa farmland values are down 2.2%. That’s the latest result from The Realtors Land Institute Iowa Chapter survey, where participants were asked to estimate the average value of farmland as of September 1, 2025.

(Realtors Institute, Iowa Chapter)

In the past six months, the statewide average showed a 1.2% decrease. The six months before that resulted in a 1% decrease. This is all for tillable acres.

Iowa Realtors say this continues the sideways trend for land values since the market spiked in 2021 and 2022.

“The market is continuing to confirm it’s stubbornly stable,” says Matt Vegter, Hertz Farm Real Estate. “To post the numbers we did with the uncertainty in the market with tariffs, the price of corn and soybeans, it’s really a bright spot in the farmland market.”

Survey respondents say the market is stable despite bearish corn and soybean prices.
What’s helping stand up the market are:

Lack of inventory
Expectation for an above average crop for most of Iowa
Strong cattle prices

Vegter says for his area of business, central Iowa, listings are down 10% to 20%, and that holds true across most of the state.

“The summer is normally slow, but this was extra slow,” he says. “Typically inventory picks up in the fall through the winter, and we are expecting an average season ahead.”

Pasture acre values across the state trended flat or up for every reporting district, ranging from 0% to +6.8%. Per acre average values range from $4,498 to $5,504 per acre.
Looking ahead through the winter, which is traditionally a time for higher volume in transactions, the Realtor respondents are watching how farmland values could be effected.

“The strongest values are in northwest Iowa and northeast Iowa, where you have the most cattle feeder,” he says. “But those strong values can be attributed to how profitable cattle have been in the last year or two.”

All states in the Chicago Federal Reserve district, average a 3% percent increase in dollar value of “good” farmland from July 1, 2024 to July 1, 2025. And by state:

Illinois 0%
Indiana 3%
Iowa 4%
Wisconsin 11%

“We say that eight of 10 farms we sell are bought by a local farmer,” Vegter says. “That trend won’t change.”

New Tool Helps Farmers, Ranchers Identify Conservation Incentive Programs

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 12:49:38 GMT

Conservation incentive programs that fit your farm and specific agronomic practices and/or livestock are not always easy to identify and sign up for online.

But those hurdles could soon be problems in the past, thanks to a new online platform, the Conservation Connector, which was just launched this week by the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC)

The new tool allows farmers, ranchers, and farm advisers to easily evaluate conservation incentive programs and connect with technical support at one online site, according to Ryan Heiniger, CTIC executive director.

As a fourth-generation farmer, Heiniger says he knows firsthand how challenging it can be to identify programs, companies and the individuals in charge of them who can provide more details in a phone call or an email.

“You might visit four or five government offices and a dozen websites, only to collect bits and pieces of information on those programs that would be a good fit for you. Our goal with the Conservation Connector is to bring all of that under one roof, so to speak, to help farmers, ranchers and advisers more easily find what is available in their area and fits with their needs,” Heiniger says.

The platform currently has around 500 programs and service providers in the Midwest that are participating, Heiniger says. He notes the tool is continually updated with the latest program offerings from trusted agencies, organizations and conservation partners. In addition, Connector.ag has no associated costs for farmers, ranchers and advisers to use.

“I want to underscore that it’s free for farmers; none of the information is behind any kind of paywall,” he says. “It’s also free for people who want to create a listing.”

The Conservation Connector is easy to navigate – it’s searchable by geography, commodity, incentive type, and/or management practice.

“We’ve made it easy for people who are on a specific mission to filter through,” Heiniger says. “You might be in New York looking for help with pasture renovation, and you don’t want or need to see what programs are available in Iowa. So, you can default right to New York. Or, you can default to a specific crop. The filters can help you ratchet down to the specific information you want to dive deeper into.”

Heiniger says the idea for Conservation Connector originated from Houston Engineering, the Nature Conservancy, and Open Team, and the CTIC invested the past 18 months in developing it.

CTIC invites farmers, ranchers, technical service providers, and conservation partners across the country to explore the platform at Connector.ag . You can provide feedback about your experience to help inform future iterations of the platform here .

Right to Farm Fight Erupts After Family Ordered to Tear Down Greenhouse

Tue, 22 Jul 2025 19:15:33 GMT

Tear down the greenhouse and comply with code — or face regulatory ruin.

On private, unincorporated land flanked by a Rocky Mountain horizon, Jenny Loop broke ground on a greenhouse in June 2024. At the cusp of completion in 2025, officials in Teller County, Colorado, shut her down, citing a breach of code.

Loop is unbowed: “They use regulations like a battering ram, but they’re not above state law. Our state’s Farm Stand Act of 2019 gives me the right to operate.”

The right to farm is yesterday’s footnote, but zoning regulations reign supreme, according to the county.

Knock on the Door
The public saw bare shelves. Jenny Loop saw opportunity.

In 2021, during the Covid era, Loop stared at empty grocery store racks and responded with a self-reliant remedy. “I decided to build a greenhouse on our property. As a little girl, I learned from my grandfather to tend a garden. Grow and share — that’s what he taught me.”

At 9,200’ in elevation, outside Divide, Colo., Loop, 36, and her husband, Zach, 40, along with two sons (10 and 11) and two daughters (twins, 19), have four acres of unincorporated and unannexed ground. Loop owns a mortgage brokerage; Zach owns a tractor dealership and mobile repair company.

Loop’s back-yard view: “Out of the city limits and on our own land,” she says. “We sure weren’t bothering anyone.”

(Photo courtesy of Loop family)

Their greenhouse plan was a family affair: “It was a huge 4-H and FFA opportunity for our boys,” Loop says. “There’s also a young entrepreneurship program at our farmer’s market. The kids planned ahead and took online marketing classes to get ready.”

“The more I talked with neighbors and friends, the more excited I got,” she continues. “Fresh produce at a reasonable price is exactly what our county needs. Our state imports 70% of its food, and locally something as simple as heirloom tomatoes can run $7 per pound. A single kiwi can be $3.”

Intending to grow cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, mushrooms, and kiwis behind her home, Loop began building a 168’ long (2,800 square feet) greenhouse in June 2024, aiming to maximize space via 40 hydroponic towers—each potentially producing 400-600 lb. of tomatoes, according to her projections.

“Work hard, grow our own food, supply a serious need in our community, and teach our kids along the way,” Loop summarizes. “Out of the city limits and on our own land. We sure weren’t bothering anyone.”

And then came a knock on the door from a county code enforcement official: What are you building?

Green Light?
Loop hid nothing, she insists.

“I was proud and excited. I told the county officer exactly what I was building and why.”

Initially, the officer told Loop a permit was required for greenhouse construction.

One-two punch of stop-work-orders issued to Loop roughly a month apart.

(Photo by Loop family)

“I showed him the agricultural definitions in county code that stated a permit wasn’t required. This was agricultural, as in attempting to grow with intent of profit. Right then, from the start, the county knew I’d be selling crops.”

(Teller County officials did not respond to Agweb interview requests regarding Loop’s greenhouse.)

Loop cited Section R105 Permits R105.2, Work exempt from permit … 12. Agricultural buildings that meet all the following: (a) are used solely for the agricultural uses that are the basis for the property being classified as agricultural land by the County Assessor, (b) are not used for residential purposes, such as storing household items, personal vehicles, etc., and (c) meet the setback requirements of the Land Use Regulations that would apply were a building permit required. Although no permit for such buildings is required, all construction is required to follow all current building codes in place.

“The officer gave me a green light, but said I’d need to get a permit for the electricity when I put in electricity. Absolutely.”

Fast forward a year into May 2025. Loop obtained an electrical permit. The greenhouse was near completion, almost ready for installation of a fan-circulation system. “Teller County then came out for inspection and put a stop-work-order on me,” Loop recounts. “I’d spent $150,000 and was on my own land, out in the county, and about to meet a genuine food need. But none of that mattered. Only the regulations mattered.”

Tomato Crimes?
Thus began a hamster wheel of appeals, letters, and meetings.

“They pulled the stop work order knowing I needed a profit for an FSA application. I got the stop work order pulled and we put in $15,000 worth of electricity. They came and inspected that, and once again, they hit me with a second stop work order,” Loop recalls. “That was the bottom line —they would find a way to block our greenhouse, no matter what hoops we jumped through. Literally, you have to appeal to basically the same people that say you’re in violation to begin with.”

“That was the bottom line—they would find a way to block our greenhouse, no matter what hoops we jumped through,” Loop says.

(Photo courtesy of Loop family)

“I showed county officials their own code definition: ‘Agricultural land is located in an incorporated or unincorporated area (without regard to zoning),’ but they didn’t seem to know what I was talking about. I met with Planning Director Dan Swallow and he was completely dismissive. I was treated awfully in front of my kids and he didn’t want to hear a word.”

On June 17, Teller County sent Loop a letter listing her violations: Your property is classified as residential by the Teller County Assessor. This classification disqualifies you from the agricultural exemption from building permits.

“The permit isn’t the problem,” Loop details. “I have applied for the permit and they denied the permit too, citing zoning for commercial use. I can have the building if I don’t sell, but even if I say I wont sell, they still won’t give me the permit.”

“That’s it, according to the county,” she continues. “They said my appeal privileges were over and to tear down the structure. They sent another letter in July from Swallow and it included all the ways they could ruin me with penalties, take me to county and district court, and count every single day I’m in violation as a separate offense.”

And all stemming from the crime of attempting to grow tomatoes in a greenhouse beyond code — an agricultural action, Loop insists, that is protected by an overriding authority: The Farm Stand Act.

Word Games
Regardless of county codes, regulations, or rules, Loop cites an agricultural trump card as her greenhouse protection. Specifically, Colorado’s Farm Stand Act , passed in 2019: Concerning the ability of a farm stand to be operated on a principal use site of any sized land area regardless of whether the site has been zoned by a local government for agricultural operations.

“I’d spent $150,000 and was on my own land, out in the county, and about to meet a genuine food need. But none of that mattered. Only the regulations mattered.”

(Photo courtesy of Loop family)

The Act’s final paragraph is particularly explicit, she says: Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a farm stand may be located on a parcel of any size. The retail sale of goods to the public by a farm stand must include goods or other agricultural products that are grown or produced on the principal use site on which the farm stand is located or may include agricultural products resulting from the agricultural operation that not conducted on the principal use sit to the extent permitted by the applicable local government. Nothing in this Article 31 prohibits a local government from requiring the operator of a farm stand to obtain a valid license or permit or to comply with any other applicable laws prior to operating the farm stand but in no way shall such local permitting, licensing, or other applicable legal requirements deny the use of the site as described in this section.

“I’m not a lawyer, but I don’t have to play word games to understand what the Act says. The county has no way around the text, other to pretend I don’t have a farm stand. However, my greenhouse is a dual farm stand — a place to sell and grow, and I’m protected by this very state law.”

Regulation and Reason
How did Teller County respond to Loop’s assertions regarding the Farm Stand Act?

“They told me they ‘didn’t have to follow state law’ in this case,” Loop contends. “I asked, ‘Why?’ and they still haven’t given me a response because they know there’s not a straight answer. State law supersedes county regulations and they know it.”

Colorado State Senator Mark Baisley , representing eight counties, including Teller County, has taken interest in Loop’s case. Baisley has spoken with all three county commissioners, the county attorney, the Colorado Office of Legislative Legal Services, and Capitol attorneys regarding Right to Farm.

In an email statement to Agweb, Baisley states his support of Loop and the Farm Stand Act. He references the aforementioned final paragraph: “My advice to Ms. Loop is that she attempt to resolve the matter informally with the County directly or obtain legal counsel to assert the position that her property meets the description of a farm stand and ‘IN NO WAY SHALL SUCH LOCAL PERMITTING, LICENSING, OR OTHER APPLICABLE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS DENY THE USE OF THE SITE AS DESCRIBED IN THIS SECTION.’”

“In the end, I hope for a positive outcome for Ms. Loop,” Baisley adds. “She has invested a tremendous amount of treasure and energy into this entrepreneurial dream.”

“They use regulations like a battering ram, but they’re not above state law,” Loop contends. “Our state’s Farm Stand Act of 2019 gives me the right to operate.”

(Photo courtesy of Loop family)

Teller County’s reaction to Loop’s greenhouse comes with a heavy dose of irony, she believes. On page 14 of the county’s 15-year Strategic Plan 2021-2036 , the report lists a particularly relevant “anticipated” need: Financial support to implement programs that support healthy eating, active living for aging senior population.

“You gotta be kidding. How ironic can you get?” Loop exclaims. “It’s in black-and-white in their own plan. They’re concerned about getting finances to boost healthy eating. In reality, they don’t have to find the funding. I’ve already paid for it myself, but look how I’m being treated for daring to supply my community with food.”

What happens next?

If necessary, Loop intends to fight in court. “I’m up against unreal power, but I’m willing to fight for several reasons. One, my family and I want to provide vegetables to our community at scale — something that hasn’t been done around here since about 1930. Two, I want to bring attention to this overregulation so it helps someone else down the road. Regulation shouldn’t override basic reason.”

Loop’s legal fight includes a GoFundMe account : “If I have to go to court, then that’s what I’ll do,” she concludes. “I have the right on my own land to both grow and sell crops.”

For more from Chris Bennett (@ChrisBennettMS or cbennett@farmjournal.com or 662-592-1106), see:
County Shuts Down 15-Yr-Old’s Bait Stand on Family Farm, Threatens Daily Fines

City Gov to Seize 175-Year-Old Farm by Eminent Domain, Replace with Affordable Housing

Ghost Cattle: $650M Ponzi Rocks Livestock Industry, Money Still Missing

Game of Horns: Iowa Poacher’s Antler Addiction Leads to Historic Bust

How the Deep State Tried, and Failed, to Crush an American Farmer

Sisters of Farm Fraud: How 4 Siblings Fleeced USDA for $10M

Corn and Cocaine: Roger Reaves and the Most Incredible Farm Story Never Told

Land Values ‘Remarkably Stable’ Across the Country

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 21:20:51 GMT

Halfway through 2025, land values remain stable across the country despite reverberating uncertainty in the agricultural outlook. And while zooming out to a national level values appear stable, there are some geographic areas showing decline in values.

“The USDA forecasts 2025 net farm income to be the lowest since 2020. This will likely influence producer purchasing power and investor returns, especially as input costs, commodity prices, and interest rates fluctuate,” says Paul Schadegg, senior vice president of real estate for Farmers National Company. “While balance sheets generally remain strong, any negative movements in the ag economy could quickly impact the land market.”

Ty Kreitman of the Kansas City Federal Reserve District reports that from its survey of ag lenders across its district, the average value of non-irrigated farmland declined about 2% from a year ago in the first quarter of 2025. Click here for more from Kreitman.

Commenting on demand, a majority of farmland buyers are farmers, and as such, Schadegg says farmer profitability will be the driver of future farmland value trends.

Regarding supply, the overall market has listings down 25% from the peak inventories in 2020-2021. FNC marketed more than $450 in land in the first six months of 2025. And Schadegg notes an observation that many farm landowners are choosing the stability of the investment in the land’s appreciation rather than selling the property.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reports the amount of farmland listed for sale was down during the winter and early spring of 2025 compared to 2024. For more takeaways from the Chicago Fed’s survey, click here.

Looking ahead, the survey from the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank also reflects stability as lenders across that district expect farmland values to continue to be stable. Its survey includes takeaways from the second quarter, which you can find here.

Regional Updates

With its mid-year annual report, FNC managers highlight the trends of their regions.

Kansas, Eastern Colorado and Western Missouri

“High-quality farmland values from Colorado through Kansas to Missouri remain steady despite regional differences in rainfall and soil types,” says Steve Morgan, area sales manager with FNC. “Since July 2024, some tracts have sold for more than 5% above market in competitive auctions, while others have dipped slightly below last year’s prices.”

Average prices per acre:

$5,800 in Kansas
$7,500 in Missouri
$3,500 in Oklahoma

Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky

“Farms that enter the market with a high percentage of tillable acres, highly productive soil types and in areas with large farm operators will still sell for values within 90% to 95% of the range seen from 2021 to 2023. Farms with fewer tillable acres and lower-quality soils will be priced 10% to 20% below the market highs of a few years ago,” says Jay Van Gorden, area sales manager for FNC.

He says the territory has up to 30% fewer sales than the previous three-year trend, but Van Gorden says that could change to pay down debt, generate operating capital or farmer retirement.

Illinois and Wisconsin

“After a clear softening in late 2024 and early 2025, the Illinois and Wisconsin farmland markets are showing signs of stabilization, especially in regions with high soil productivity and local operator demand,” says Jim Ferguson, relationship executive at FNC. “Despite short-term caution, both sellers and buyers seem more confident than they were in late 2024 or early Q1 2025.”

Ferguson says a characteristic of today’s market is buyers and sellers are enter negotiations with “more balanced expectations.”

“This isn’t a return to the peak-level bidding wars of recent years, but it’s also not a market in retreat. Well-marketed properties with strong soils, good drainage and favorable locations are still attracting strong interest,” he says.

Dakotas and Western Minnesota

“Many expected a correction in 2024 or 2025, but the upper Midwest continues to defy that trend,” says Troy Swee, area sales manager at FNC. He cites:

a 5.7% increase in land values in South Dakota during the second half of 2024, according to Farm Credit Services.
a 1.6% rise in Minnesota for the same period, also according to Farm Credit Services.
a 10.55% increase in eastern North Dakota after two straight years of decline, according to North Dakota State University.

“Tighter balance sheets are also decreasing the number of qualified bidders at land auctions,” he says. “Still, the outlook remains steady. With harvest months away, early signs indicate another strong crop across much of the region. If that holds true, land values and cash rents are likely to stay stable through the end of the year.”

Western Nebraska, Northwest Kansas and Northeastern Colorado

Higher interest rates and lower commodity prices are not putting farmers in this region in a position to expand, says Cole Nickerson, area sales manager at FNC.

“These financial pressures have narrowed margins for many producers, resulting in more cautious land investment behavior,” he says. “As a result, we are seeing a decline in public land listings throughout the territory. Additionally, there has been a slight shift from public auction to traditional listings as sellers aim to protect their investment value.”

Nickerson says a bright spot in the geography’s land market is pasture and hay acres.

“All-time highs in feeder cattle prices, along with elevated cash rental rates, have supported strong demand for grazing land. Hardland pastures with quality fences and excellent access are attracting the most interest from buyers. Although higher cattle prices have brought positivity to the local land market, it hasn’t been enough to offset the broader decline in average land value across the region,” he says.

Recently released data from the University of Nebraska shows for the first time in six years, the state’s land values went backward. Overall, average land values declined 2% to $3,935 an acre.

Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa

When reflecting on land value trends, Chanda Scheuring, area sales manager at FNC, says the biggest question is how long can the current levels be maintained.

“As the agricultural economy has less readily available cash than in previous years, some farmers are or already have started to feel pressure from their financial lenders,” Scheuring says. “Discussions about tightening budgets and even selling a quarter of their land have been topics some local loan officers have suggested to a few of their clients.”

The buyer pool is shrinking in number of producers who have the ability to expand in the current ag economy.

Texas

With cautious optimism, Sawyer Breeding, real estate sales and ranch manager at FNC, says the fast build up in values during the COVID pandemic has tempered to more normal.

“Prices remain relatively steady, with a moderate year-over-year growth of 1.32% in 2025 for rural real estate in Texas,” Breeding says. “Properties are selling at a moderate pace, with some listings staying on the market longer than in previous years. Buyers are becoming more focused on higher-quality properties. Both buyers and sellers should approach the market with a focus on long-term value, considering factors such as land improvements, water rights and access to utilities, all of which can significantly affect a property’s desirability and worth.”

Iowa and Southern Minnesota

Supply drives the market in Iowa, says Thomas Schutter, area sales manager at FNC.

“As prices softened last year, many potential sellers chose to hold off, leading to tighter supply and a new market dynamic. With land supply down, we saw a slight uptick in prices by the end of Q1 2025. Several auctions across the state reached levels comparable to the highs of 2022 and 2023,” he says.

He says lower grain prices and strained working capital brought a resurgence of farmer leasebacks and off-market opportunities for investors in farmland.

USDA Takes 'Bold Action' to Crack Down on Foreign-Owned Farmland, Targets China

Tue, 08 Jul 2025 19:04:06 GMT

The Trump administration is focusing on national security in agriculture, which includes action to help eliminate foreign-owned farmland. USDA unveiled the National Farm Security Action Plan this week, a strategy that is aimed at protecting and securing American farmland from foreign influence, as well as defending innovation.

The plan is the next pillar of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins’ Make Agriculture Great Again initiative. USDA calls it a “historic plan” that “elevates American agriculture as a key element of our nation’s national security, addressing urgent threats from foreign adversaries and strengthening the resilience of our nation’s food and agricultural systems.”

The Trump administration has been facing increased pressure to crack down on the amount of foreign-owned farmland in the U.S., especially surrounding U.S. military bases.

“We feed the world. We lead the world. And we’ll never let foreign adversaries control our land, our labs, or our livelihoods,” said Rollins. “This Action Plan puts America’s farmers, families, and future first — exactly where they belong. Under President Trump’s leadership, American agriculture will be strong, secure, and resilient. He will never stop fighting for our farmers and our ranchers.

“Too much American land is owned by nationals of adversarial countries, and more than 265,000 acres in the United States are owned by Chinese nationals, much of which is located near critical U.S. military bases ,” Rollins also told reporters Monday.

USDA's National Farm Security Action Plan, announced today under @SecRollins' Make Agriculture Great Again initiative, safeguards our food supply, strengthens infrastructure, & defends U.S. ag innovation from foreign adversaries.

🔗https://t.co/8wl5YfIzju pic.twitter.com/cqRv4PU6Th
— Dept. of Agriculture (@USDA) July 8, 2025

In what USDA calls “aggressive action,” the agency says it is addressing seven critical areas, which include:

Secure and protect American farmland — Address U.S. foreign farmland ownership from adversaries head on. Total transparency. Tougher penalties.
Enhance agricultural supply chain resilience — Refocus domestic investment into key manufacturing sectors and identify non-adversarial partners to work with when domestic production is not available. Plan for contingencies.
Protect U.S. nutrition safety net from fraud and foreign exploitation — Billions have been stolen by foreign crime rings. That ends now.
Defend agricultural research and innovation — No more sweetheart deals or secret pacts with hostile nations. American ideas stay in America.
Put America first in every USDA program — From farm loans to food safety, every program will reflect the America First agenda.
Safeguard plant and animal health — Crack down on bio-threats before they ever reach American soil.
Protect critical infrastructure — Farms, food and supply chains are national security assets — and will be treated as such.

Rollins wasn’t alone in unveiling the new plan. Along with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and several state governors, Rollins says the Trump administration is creating a united front to address foreign threats.

FARM SECURITY IS NATIONAL SECURITY: Today, the Trump Administration launched the National Farm Security Action plan to protect our farmland and food supply from foreign threats. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/hUwxknmGYK
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 8, 2025

“Getting an understanding of why foreign entities, companies and individuals buy up land around those bases. That’s something I should be paying attention to,” said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during the press conference this week.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins conducts a news conference to announce the National Farm Security Action Plan and “discuss actions being taken to protect American agriculture from foreign threats,” outside the USDA Whitten Building on Tuesday, July 8, 2025. Attorney General Pam Bondi, left, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, also appear.

((Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Sipa USA))

USDA says it’s launching a new online portal for farmers, ranchers, and others to report possible false or failed reporting and compliance with respect to Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (AFIDA).

“Further, the portal will receive and review claims of adversarial foreign influence on federal, state, and local policymakers with respect to purchases of U.S. farmland and business dealings in other facets of U.S. agricultural supply chains. Submissions may be accepted anonymously or contact information may be provided for appropriate follow up by USDA.”

As background, USDA explained AFIDA requires foreign investors who acquire, transfer, or hold an interest in U.S. agricultural land to report such holdings and transactions to the Secretary of Agriculture. USDA says In January 2024, the Government Accountability Office published a report on foreign investments in U.S. agricultural land, which provided recommendations for enhancing efforts to collect, track, and share key information to identify national security risks.

Increasing Biosecurity Threats

Rollins specifically mentioned increasing biosecurity threats from China.

As AgWeb reported in June , another Chinese national is accused of smuggling biological materials related to roundworms into the U.S. for work at a University of Michigan laboratory. According to the U.S. attorney’s office, Chengxuan Han is charged with smuggling goods into the U.S. and making false statements.

That followed two Chinese nationals charged with trying to smuggle a fungus , Fusarium graminearum, into the U.S. just a week prior.

USDA says those recent events highlight the critical need for this action.

“Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice charged foreign nationals, including a Chinese Communist Party member, with smuggling a noxious fungus into the United States — a potential agroterrorism weapon responsible for billions in global crop losses. The scheme involved a U.S. research lab and highlighted a disturbing trend: America’s enemies are playing the long game — infiltrating our research, buying up our farmland, stealing our technology, and launching cyberattacks on our food systems. These actions expose strategic vulnerabilities in America’s food and agriculture supply chain,” USDA said in a release.

Foreign-Owned Farmland By the Numbers

The foreign-owned farmland piece drew this biggest coverage out of USDA’s announcement this week . As AgWeb reported last year , when you look at the numbers, China doesn’t own the most farmland in the U.S.. According to a USDA report, it’s actually Canada, which accounts for 32%, or 14.2 million acres. But as USDA said on Tuesday, the concern is the amount of farmland owned by China is growing.

Foreign-Owned Land by County

(USDA)

Rounding out the top five are the Netherlands at 12%, Italy at 6%, the United Kingdom at 6% and Germany at 5%. Together, citizens in those countries hold 13 million acres, or 29%, of the foreign-held acres in the U.S. China owns less than 1%, or 349,442 acres.

All told, 43.4 million acres of forest and farmland in the U.S., or 3.4% of all ag land, is foreign owned as of Dec. 31, 2022. Roughly 30 million of those acres are reported as foreign owned, with the remainder primarily under a 10-year-or-longer lease. Of the 30 million, 66% is owner-operated, 14% has a tenant or sharecropper as the producer and 12% report a manager other than the owner or a tenant/sharecropper as producer. The remaining 7% are “NA.”

USDA says the two biggest Chinese-owned companies with land holdings in the U.S. are Brazos Highland and Murphy Brown LLC, which owns Smithfield Foods. Brazos Highland reported owning 102,345 acres, and Smithfield owns 97,975 acres.

The top five states with the largest Chinese holdings are:

Texas at 162,167 acres
North Carolina at 44,776 acres
Missouri at 43,071 acres
Utah at 32,447 acres
Virginia at 14,382 acres

USDA reports those five states combined account for 85% of China’s farmland ownership. In Texas, USDA reports China has long-term leases associated with wind energy, and in North Carolina and Missouri, ownership is tied to Smithfield and producers who contract for pork production.

Unintended Consequences?

Foreign-held farmland has become a hot-button topic on Capitol Hill, but some warn unintended consequences could impact agriculture, especially for those industries who have companies that are Chinese owned. Just take Smithfield as an example. If Smithfield is targeted, some fear that could create more consolidation in the hog industry.

“It’s an emotional issue, and it’s not a simple issue either,” Jim Wiesemeyer, a long-time Washington analyst, told AgWeb. “I was recently in Missouri, and some commodity leaders worry about the negative consequences of going too far. No one’s saying China should not be watched relative to buying farmland near airports, national security is involved in that case, but more than a few farmers are looking at the potential downsides for pork producers who contract with Smithfield and the number of acres they own.”

While there isn’t a single, comprehensive ban on China owning farmland across all states, many states have introduced or enacted laws restricting or prohibiting foreign ownership of agricultural land, with a focus on China. That includes Texas, Florida and several Midwestern states that have enacted laws restricting or banning purchases by specific countries, including China.

One of those unintended consequences played out in Arkansas when Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders

In 2023, Arkansas became the first state to enforce a law banning certain foreign entities from owning agricultural land, specifically targeting those deemed “prohibited foreign parties.” This action was taken against a subsidiary of Syngenta Seeds , a Chinese-owned company, ordering them to divest their farmland.

“I’m announcing Syngenta, a Chinese state-owned agrichemical company, must give up its landing holdings in Arkansas,” said Sanders, referencing a 160-acre research site owned by Northrup King Seed, a Syngenta subsidiary.

Sanders was present as USDA rolled out the new plan this week.

“Arkansas led the nation in kicking Communist China off our farmland and out of our state because we understand that farm security is national security,” said Sanders. “I applaud President Trump and Secretary Rollins for putting America first with this bold USDA Action Plan to protect our food supply, our economy, and our freedom.”

It’s an issue that’s not going away. More states are considering addressing foreign-owned farmland with legislation, as well.

🇨🇳There’s a troubling correlation between Chinese-owned farmland in America and the location of our military bases.

🌾Assembly Bill 4781 by Asm. Alex Sauickie, Asw. Dawn Fantasia, and me would stop this in its tracks in New Jersey.

🚨With today’s announcement by the U.S.… pic.twitter.com/1CGA7K9Iwj
— Mike Inganamort (@MikeInganamort) July 8, 2025

States Applaud USDA’s Aggressive Plan

Governors and state agriculture secretaries were on hand for the announcement this week, applauding USDA’s plan.

“Tennesseans know that our farmland is our national security, our economic future, and our children’s heritage. The National Farm Security Action Plan puts America First by defending our farmland from foreign adversaries and protecting our food supply, and I thank the Trump Administration for its bold leadership,” said Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee.

“Farm Security = Food Security = National Security. Thanks to these actions taken by President Trump and his team, we can further protect the backbone of Nebraska’s economy from foreign adversaries like China. Homeland security starts at home, and we will continue to do our part in Nebraska,” Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen said in a news release.

“I am grateful for Secretary Brooke Rollins’ bold leadership in advancing USDA’s Ag Security Agenda, which prioritizes safeguarding American agriculture and farmland from those who seek to undermine our nation’s food and energy security. Iowa’s multi-generation family farms are the backbone of our state’s economy and way of life. For decades, Iowa has banned the foreign ownership of farmland, a law we strengthened in 2024, to preserve our agricultural integrity and security while balancing the need for foreign business investment in our state. I fully support Secretary Rollins’ and the Trump Administration’s efforts to bolster enforcement, increase reporting, and enhance transparency of land ownership laws at the national level to guarantee that our American farmland remains in the hands of Americans,” said Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig.

In Today’s Ag Economy, What’s Supporting Land Values?

Mon, 23 Jun 2025 20:29:13 GMT

When looking at the data from 2024 and 2025 so far, Doug Hensley, president of Hertz Farm Management, says keeping perspective is important.

“Coming out of the 2020 through 2023 growing seasons, agriculture in general was probably in its strongest financial footing that it has ever been in, or at least in the last 50 years,” Hensley says.

He says 2024’s farmer income was kept afloat by the ECAP payments along with stronger markets in January and February in the early months of this year.

“A lot of people had a little bit of profit and are fighting to see another day, and out in the countryside right now, it’s not a perfect crop everywhere, but holy buckets, I mean it’s going to be a big crop, if we finish this thing,” Hensley says.

Hensley will be watching crop conditions through pollination — particularly in the next three weeks.

Uncertainty Tampers Land Available For Sale

Hensley says this past fall, land values dipped with lower commodity prices, higher interest rates, and higher input prices challenging profitability.

“With the early ‘25 rallying commodity prices and the ECAP payments really supporting cash flow out in the countryside, we actually saw a little bump in the land market this spring,” he says. “This I would attribute to the fact that very few farms have sold.”

Regarding the lower availability of farmland for sale, Hensley says it can be attributed to human behavior.

“Anytime you get one of these geopolitical environments where there’s lots of things going, tariffs, and just the transition to the new Trump administration, it unsettled a lot of things,” he says. “And when there’s lots of uncertainties, people have a tendency, especially with big assets, just to hold off on making decisions. That’s what actually supported the land market.”

(Chicago Federal Reserve Bank)

According to the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank’s survey of farm lenders, farmland values across the “I” states remained steady compared to the previous year. However, those values were supported by lack of supply — not stronger demand. Farmland available for sale and the actual sales (by farm number and by acreage) were all lower in Q1 2025 compared to 2024.

Peoples Company tracked and reported on 28 tracts (2,007 acres) sold at public auction in Iowa in May 2025. The price was $9,289 per acre, and calculated just for tillable acres the average price was $11,895 per acre and the average per CSR2 was $160.

(Peoples Company)

What About Land Available for Sale Through the End of the Year?

Hensley says going forward, sellers might make more land available on the market.

“I think we’re going to see volume in the land market increase, probably every month from now through harvest,” Hensley says. “So it’ll be an interesting harvest season and end of summer, but right now I think the land market looks pretty good.”

Randy Dickhut with Ag Economic Insights is watching the share of farmland purchases financed by debt. He reports an increasing share using debt for purchase, mostly notable in Indiana but also Iowa and Illinois showing an increase as well.

(Acres.com and AEI.ag )

“This isn’t surprising given strong farmland values and sluggish farm income, especially for corn and soybean producers,” he says.

Dickhut breaks down the commonly referenced statistic that 85% of farmland is debt-free, and he highlights how now that number is closer to 80% in Iowa at a statewide level. The level of debt-free farmland varies across the five state he analyzed, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Minnesota, where an average of 27% of farmland sales between 2021 and 2024 reported a lien.

His analysis underscores how land and debt are critical parts of the farmer’s balance sheet as real estate accounts for 84% of farm assets and 67% of all farm debt.

“However, farm incomes have been quite volatile over the last few years,” Dickhut says. “As such, it stands to reason that debt might be more common in 2024 than in 2021 or 2022.”

And from his analysis, across Indiana, Illinois and Iowa, the share of land sales using a loan was higher in 2024 than any other earlier year reported.

From the Chicago Federal Reserve ag banker survey, other results included:

69% of the surveyed bankers expect farmland prices to be unchanged in the second quarter of 2025
Annual cash rents declined across the district for the first time since 2020
This year, average annual cast rents dropped 3% in Iowa, dropped 2% in Illinois and went up 1% in Indiana
No banker in the survey observed higher rates of loan repayment in the first quarter, compared to Q1 2024
39% reported lower rates of repayment by their farm customers
On average, 19% of their farm borrowers (still a small percentage) had more carryover debt from last year’s crop carried over into the new growing season, compared to the amount of carryover debt one year ago

Tennessee Farmer Penalized by County for Parking Ag Equipment in Soybean Field

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 19:52:11 GMT

Farm equipment, parked on a farm, is illegal?

“It’s as crazy as it sounds,” says Danny Kitzman, “but it’s happening to me right now.”

In rural western Tennessee—Kitzman’s trailers, tillage implements, and track hoe sitting alongside a soybean field are a threat to code, claim officials in Madison County, a locale consistently ranked among the highest in the nation for per capita crime.

“Just when you think you’ve heard it all, you haven’t,” Kitzman adds. “We’ve got murders and robberies in serious numbers in this county, but I’m the one facing fines or seizure or who knows what, all because I parked my agriculture equipment on my own land. This could happen to you, too.”

Hell of an Irony
Soybean production, farm equipment auctions, land sales, and house construction, Danny Kitzman, 34, keeps a lot of irons in the fire. “I’m just a guy trying to make a living in agriculture and I’m willing to do anything and everything. I’m a small, small farmer, but I hope to farm fulltime somewhere down the road.”

“I love farm life. I do whatever it takes to make a buck and I don’t get in anyone’s business. Every time I save a dollar, it goes into equipment or land.”

As the first half of a historically wet 2025 rolled along, Kitzman—mirroring thousands of Mid-South producers in Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas, and Mississippi—had major planting issues. On a particular 11-acre soybean field parallel to Highway 70, a stone’s throw from the boundary line between Madison County and Haywood County, Kitzman threw in the towel on a small portion of the acreage.

“Maybe it’ll end up getting planted this year; maybe not. I took a tiny bit of the field, put down some gravel, and parked some vehicles—equipment I use for or in all my agribusiness operations. I live and have my business headquarters in Crockett County, so this was a great overflow location for me. It’s a rural parking spot so far out that it’s almost not in Madison County.”

Surrounded by cultivated fields, a requisite Dollar General, a house just visible through a tree line six acres distant, a sawmill across the highway, and flanked by an approximately 200-acre solar farm, Kitzman placed an assortment of agriculture machinery atop his gravel strip, from dirt buckets to tillage equipment.

Beyond the equipment, his acreage contained no buildings; no signs; and no electricity.

On March 18, Kitzman’s mailbox clinked with a letter from Madison County officials referencing a code violation. Essentially, Kitzman was ordered to remove all agriculture machinery from the farmland.

“I got a call from the codes department and they said the presence of the equipment was violating their code and I was running a business. I said, ‘Farm equipment on a farm is breaking code? What the hell are yall talking about? I use this machinery in my farm income every year, one way or another.’”

“Long as I live, I’ll never forget their reply: ‘You don’t farm enough or make enough money for that amount of equipment, so you have to move it from the side of the highway.’”

“Kinda odd, when you consider what’s in eyesight of my soybean field,” Kitzman continues. “That 200-acre solar farm, which sure as hell isn’t farming and sticks out as an eyesore like nothing else—that meets all the county’s zoning requirements. I’d bet everything that if I had solar panels sitting on my farm instead of farm equipment, the county would be in full support and make certain I had full code approval. That’s what I call a hell of an irony.”

By the Code
Move the machinery or else. Or else what? Per a Madison County attorney: “Failure to comply may lead to my office taking legal action, seeking an injunction and a judgment against you for all costs related to enforcement of the Zoning Resolution, including possible civil penalties set forth under the law.”

(The Madison County Property Code Enforcement Department did not respond to Farm Journal interview requests.)

The threats stunned Kitzman. “What? There are farmers all around me with dozers and track hoes and cultivators, and I’ve never heard of the county dictating anything about equipment matching acreage. Bottom line, according to my countless calls with county officials: I don’t have a real agriculture business by the code.”

“This is nuts,” says Danny Kitzman. “There’s nothing out here in any of these fields to begin with—except farm equipment.”

(Photo courtesy of DK)

Kitzman dove into the code book. On May 19, he emailed Madison County officials a listing of code justification: To further support our status as an agribusiness, I am providing the relevant Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes that correspond to our primary activities:

Farming Operations: SIC 01: Agricultural Production — Crops; SIC 011: Cash Grains (e.g., Wheat - 0111, Corn - 0115, Soybeans - 0116); SIC 013: Field Crops, Except Cash Grains (e g., Cotton - 0131); SIC 02: Agricultural Production — Livestock (e.g., Beef Cattle - 0212, Dairy Farms - 0241)

Farm Equipment Auctions: SIC 3523: Farm Machinery and Equipment (including auction and sales of agricultural machinery)

Farm Real Estate Auctions: SIC 6531: Real Estate Agents and Managers (covering real estate sales and auction services for farm properties)

These SIC codes demonstrate that our business is fundamentally engaged in agricultural production, farm equipment sales, and farm real estate transactions, all of which are recognized components of the agribusiness sector.

On May 30, Kitzman received a certified letter from the county: Move it all within two days or face legal action.

Except Farm Equipment
As the legal clock rolls, Kitzman asks multiple questions .

“Is the county going to try and ruin me because I parked tractors in my soybean field? How did we get to a point where the county gets to decide how many pieces of equipment I can park? Does the county want my land? Is someone else pushing this?”

He offers a warning to landowners and agriculture producers: “Who’s to say you won’t be next with some code violation for putting seed equipment or a spray trailer or bin storage beside your turnrow?”

“This is nuts,” he concludes. “We’re talking about rural Tennessee. There’s nothing out here in any of these fields to begin with—except farm equipment.”

For more from Chris Bennett (@ChrisBennettMS or cbennett@farmjournal.com or 662-592-1106), see:

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Tennessee Farmer Penalized by County for Parking Ag Equipment in Soybean Field